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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25579969">Star Wars: Jedi Reborn (an OC / SW fanfic)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyNeighborhoodMage10396/pseuds/FriendlyNeighborhoodMage10396'>FriendlyNeighborhoodMage10396</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Anxiety Disorder, Coruscant (Star Wars), Depression, Disability, Family, Fate &amp; Destiny, Force-Sensitive Original Character(s), Gen, How Do I Tag, Jedi, Jedi Masters - Freeform, Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Kids, Lightsabers, Mentions of Jedi, Mentions of Luke Skywalker, Mentions of Old Ben, Original Character(s), Outer Space, Planets, Robots, Science Fiction, Shar from Galaxy Heroes, Space Battles, Survival, Swearing, The Force, Violence, galaxy, mentions of a lot of people - Freeform, mentions of anakin skywalker - Freeform, mentions of leia organa, possible uses of alcohol, tag i cannot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:41:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25579969</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyNeighborhoodMage10396/pseuds/FriendlyNeighborhoodMage10396</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"In a galaxy far, far away...Earth is under attack, and 3 children manage to escape with their lives. Haleigh, Sierra, and Romulus find themselves so far out in space that they have no idea how they would ever get back home! After landing on the planet, Coruscant, the children learn to get in touch with the Force, survive on their own without their families, and defend themselves in ways believed long forgotten...all while dealing with their own personal issues, and figuring out a way to take back Earth from their new enemies.</p>
<p> In the end, will they choose to continue living on their home planet...or choose to make a living in the stars, and bring new life to the Jedi ways? And will certain figures join and guide them along the way?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter I: The Lone Pack / The Invasion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just so everyone is on the same page, this fanfic does take place way after Luke's and Leia's story ends. In my world, the new movies don't exist. Sorry.... I was just never interested in seeing any of the new movies...and from what my brother has told me, not all of them are great, anyway. This is just my opinion, and why I'm not including Rey, Finn, whoever else. Honestly, Disney kinda ruined "Star Wars" for me...it's why I stick to the prequels, Luke and Leia's story, and the Clone Wars show. Again, my opinion! </p>
<p> Anyway, so yes, this story takes place in the far future. Also, I wanted to try something different with the characters I've created, here. I do my best to do research, but if I get something wrong, please tell me and I will try to fix it.</p>
<p> Alright, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy this story of mine! Please, keep negative comments to yourself...criticism is fine, just not too negative. I do try when it comes to writing. I already know I suck ^^;. Ack! I'm rambling, again!</p>
<p> Onto the story!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> It was a rainy Friday morning at Weststar Valley School, and a rather boring morning it was. Three particular children were stuck in separate class, trying not to doze off at their teachers' lessons. The rain began to pour, the sound of it beginning to drown out the sound of the teachers' voices. Of this, these three children were grateful.</p>
<p> The first child to be the main character of this story was Haleigh Gala, a 14-year old adventurous rebel who preferred doing whatever and looking out for her friends over school, any day. With strawberry-blonde hair tied in a single braid, fair skin, bluish-green eyes that usually sparkled, and freckles across the bridge of her nose...Haleigh was a girl with sass and sarcasm, much to the great annoyance of her teachers. Needless to say, she was not a favorite among her classmates. She couldn't care less that nobody at her school liked her...except for a couple of fellow students, who were her best friends and closest to siblings that she could ever ask for. She stared out the window of her math classroom as her teacher droned on.</p>
<p> The second child to be introduced was Sierra Organa, a usually quiet and very caring 13-year old girl who often worried over her sibling and her best friend, Haleigh. The only possibly school-related subject Sierra was ever interested in was Medicine. She dreamed of becoming somebody important somewhere in the medical field, so she does whatever research she could get her hands on. With her blue-dyed long hair, sun-kissed skin, and brown eyes, Sierra was usually very sweet and always willing to help out in any way that she can. Like Haleigh, Sierra was a loner girl at school...her only friends being Haleigh and her sibling. Nobody but them could understand her, and she was mistreated for it on a daily basis. During her Geometry class, she looked out the window she sat next to, and watched the rain fall.</p>
<p> The third and final child to be introduced was 12-year old Romulus Organa, the younger brother of Sierra...he was a smart kid with the brains for navigation and just about anything that had to do with astronomy. He enjoyed old western movies. As smart as he was, however, he was a very nervous and skittish kid who's mind was mainly on looking after his sister and best friend, Haleigh. Despite his fraidy-cat nature, he was very kind-hearted like his sister and...believe it or not...also protective of her. Romulus shared his sister's eye color, and sun-kissed skin. His hair was usually untamed, and he had a small mole-like freckle near his left eye. He was the shortest of his sister and Haleigh, and like both of the girls...he, too, was a loner at school. He was currently in PE class, and failing at climbing the rope, which drove the coach impatient along with the other kids. After falling for the third time, the coach became frustrated and shooed him along, allowing the next kid to have a shot. With a disappointed huff at himself, Romulus wandered over the emergency exit doors and looked out the window, watching the rain pour down in buckets.</p>
<p> These three children had many things in common: they all dreamed of the day they could move away and start a new and better life, they all had a great interest in wanting to go into space, they all had someone in their family to talk to when times were stressful, and...they all had a personal issue that they wanted to overcome, someday.</p>
<p> Sierra is deaf, and can communicate mostly through sign-language...which was something both Haleigh and Romulus had learned, growing up, and interpreted for her whenever they spoke. Out of the two, Romulus was the one who had gotten the habit of speaking and using sign-language at the exact same time. It helped his sister, a whole lot! Sierra was also dyslexic, which makes it very difficult for her to read and pass her classes with good grades. Romulus uses his sign-language to help her with that, as well. The only other person who had been able to aid Sierra with her dyslexia was her mother...however, she had passed away before they could get any further progress. Sierra wears her mother's favorite shawl with a pin, everyday, as it was the one thing that kept her close to her.</p>
<p> There's a reason why Romulus was a skittish kid...he dealt with anxiety on a daily basis. He often had trouble sleeping unless his sister was there to help him, he was never good in public social interactions, he had many fears, and every now and then, he will have a panic-attack and breakdown. Thankfully, he has his sister and Haleigh to keep him calm and collected...most of the time. He also cannot stand being separated from the girls for too long. Depending on the situation, it was either he stayed with one of the girls...or, he didn't go or do anything, at all. He also hates bugs and spiders. However, he does understand that there was only so much Sierra and Haleigh could do for him. He knows that at some point in his life, he will need to overcome his problems. He wears glasses, as his sight is very poor...losing those glasses will cause him to have a panic-attack.</p>
<p> Haleigh deals with depression. As a little girl, she was always picked on by schoolmates, and while her parents were never abusive, her mother did little to no help for her. She was once very close to her grandmother...but, when Haleigh was only 6-years old, her grandmother had taken a horrible fall, and had passed away in the hospital. Haleigh never got a chance to say goodbye or to see her grandmother, again...at the time, she and her parents had lived across the country. After hearing the awful news, Haleigh's heart had wrenched and she began to blame herself for not being there for her grandmother, saying that the fall was her fault. Her parents...most especially her father...had tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault. But Haleigh wouldn't have it. For several weeks, she had locked herself in her room, completely avoiding school and any social interactions. Then, when she was 10-years old, she lost her father to a heart-attack. This only triggered her depression, as she was also very close to her father. To this day, all she ever felt whenever her father and grandmother came up was not only grief, but a large amount of guilt, as well. During those times, she avoided eating, and sometimes forgot things that had been done or said many times. Haleigh also has an intellectual disability, which made learning anything for her harder...most especially math. Whenever she was having a moment of depression, Sierra and Romulus were usually right there with her, letting her vent or cry if she needed to. Losing two close family members spurred something inside her: she was going to do her very best to protect her family and friends, no matter what.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> When the lunch bell rang, everybody got up to head over to the cafeteria. In both classrooms and the gym, our three protagonists were shoved against the wall. With a roll of her eyes, Haleigh grabbed her backpack, and exited the room to look for her friends. She met up with Sierra at the lockers, and asked her how she was doing in sign-language.</p>
<p> "The usual: fine but picked on, all the time." Sierra replied with a roll of her eyes and a small smile. "We should go find Romulus before the crazies pummel him." </p>
<p> "No need!" Romulus, himself, exclaimed, breathlessly, as he approached the girls. "I can't wait to have lunch...I'm starving!" He spoke and signed at the same time. </p>
<p> Haleigh nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm getting there, myself." she said and signed. Before she could speak, again, she caught a few passing students who were pointing at her and her friends while snickering. Feeling annoyed, now, she gently grabbed her friends' wrists. "C'mon...." She wanted to get all three of them out of there before she started punching people. Nobody made fun of her friends right in front of her without getting away with it....</p>
<p> However, before the three could take more than ten steps forward, Haleigh stopped...and frowned. She was suddenly getting a very bad feeling! She couldn't explain it...but she could've sworn she heard a warning whisper in her mind.... "Run...." the voice said. "Run...."</p>
<p> "Does anybody else hear that?" Haleigh asked her friends, Romulus signing to his sister what was just asked. </p>
<p> "A voice?" Sierra asked, curiously. "....I heard it, too....!"</p>
<p> "Yeah, same here...." Romulus said and signed. "It was telling us to run...and why do I have such a bad feeling?"</p>
<p> Haleigh turned to her friends with a questioning look.</p>
<p> The three children nearly had heart-attacks when the windows and doors of the school burst open! The small group immediately ducked their heads and shielded themselves from any flying shards of glass...students began to scream in terror as soldiers dressed in white suits, armor, and helmets began aiming with guns, everywhere, and shouting orders! Out of fear, everyone froze and went quiet, giving each other looks of shock and confusion. </p>
<p> A few solders wearing black armor stepped up, and looked around. One of them then caught sight of the math teacher. "You, there!" he exclaimed, his voice sounding stern and slightly muffled underneath the helmet. "We have reason to believe a few of your students are Force-sensitive, and the future Jedi. Where are they?"</p>
<p> But the math teacher had no idea what the soldier was talking about, and he was terrified! Just what on Earth was going on?! "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" he stammered, fearfully.</p>
<p> But what the soldier had mentioned sparked something familiar in Haleigh...although, she had no idea why. Still crouched low to the ground, she looked at her friends, and gently put her finger to her lips, signaling for them to keep quiet. </p>
<p> "We don't have time for this." another soldier snapped, and he aimed his gun at the teacher right before pulling the trigger! Seeing the red beam and their teacher fall, lifeless, to the floor frightened everyone...but nobody made a move to run or call for help! The soldier held up his gun. "Everyone, here, will be punished if you don't give us the future Jedi's location in thirty seconds!"</p>
<p> "Time to go!" Haleigh silently mouthed to her friends, and they both nodded in agreement. She could tell that Romulus looked fearful, the most...his eyes were wide and full of terror, and his body was trembling. If she didn't get him out of the school, soon enough, he was going to have a panic-attack right there. "Follow me...quietly." she signed, and the siblings nodded. </p>
<p> So, as stealthily as they could, they made their way through the crowd of students and teachers as a few soldiers began barking orders. Luckily, nobody paid enough attention to look down and see the three children trying to sneak off.</p>
<p> Haleigh and the others managed to sneak around the corner, and continued to do so in the direction of the building's back exit. Haleigh had a hold onto Romulus' wrist, while he had a hold onto Sierra's. Haleigh glanced over her shoulder as Romulus' breathing began to quicken. Thankfully, they were close to the exit, by now. </p>
<p> They very quietly pushed open the door, their hearts pounding in fear of getting caught. Every little squeak made their hearts skip. </p>
<p> Just then, a couple of soldiers came around the corner, seemingly conversing with one another. And then.... "Hey!" one of them exclaimed in anger.</p>
<p> "Go!!!" Haleigh shouted to her friends. Romulus grabbed Sierra's wrist and ran as fast as he could with her! One of the soldiers suddenly fired...and Haleigh was hit! She let out a cry of pain as her side immediately stung...she stumbled and fell backwards! But then, trying to ignore the pain, she immediately got to her feet just as the door shut, and she took off running after her friends. "Run!!!"</p>
<p> Together, the children ran as fast as they could, despite the still-pouring rain. They were shocked when they saw a very large and dark-colored space-ship looming over their town! </p>
<p> "What is going on?!" Romulus whimpered. "Are we being invaded?!" </p>
<p> "Less talking, more running!" Haleigh exclaimed. She finally caught up to them, and they all rounded a bend. She then spotted a manhole that was just up ahead. "Into the sewer!"</p>
<p> "What?" Romulus whimpered. </p>
<p> They stopped at the manhole, and Haleigh removed the heavy lid as fast as she could. "Would you rather go back to those men who murdered our teacher?" she asked the boy.</p>
<p> Romulus cringed, and finally made the decision. "Disgusting sewer, it is....!" he said. He quickly signed what was happening to his sister, then he reluctantly jumped into the manhole. Sierra followed close behind. Haleigh took a last glance around before jumping in, herself.</p>
<p> The children landed with grunts into the sewer...though, thankfully, neither of them ended up in the water.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter II: A Horrifying Mess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> The children moved away from the manhole opening. "Gosh, this place stinks...." Haleigh muttered with a grimace as she followed her friends along the wall. </p><p> "It's a sewer, Leigh!" Romulus told her, using the nickname he had for her. "What did you expect? Of all the hiding places in the world, you chose a fucking sewer! Do you realize how many types of germs and such are in these things? We could catch any type of deadly flu from here!"</p><p> "First of all, I'm the only one who can swear, Romulus." the young teenager told him. "You're still too young. And second of all, calm down! We'll be fine as long as we don't touch anything and stay out of the water. Also, it was the closest thing we could have to an escape, at the moment." </p><p> She squinted...the sewer was dark, and it was already creepy enough with the sounds of the water and the skittering of whatever creatures lurked, nearby. </p><p> "I can't see anything, Leigh....!" Romulus began to panic. He kept a firm hold on his sister's wrist as to not lose her. "It's so dark, down here!" </p><p> Haleigh stopped walking, and began to fish something out of her backpack. She brought out a flashlight, and turning it on, the beam startling Romulus.  </p><p> The boy raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when did you bring that along?" he asked. </p><p> "I only packed it just in case we went off on our adventures after school." she replied, and kept the light shining ahead of her and the siblings. "You know, in case we ended up in the cave, somewhere.... Romulus, do you think we can find our way back out, soon enough?" </p><p> The boy took a nervous look around. "....Yeah, it's possible if we stick close to the wall." he replied. "Let's just keep our eyes out for any little beams of light from above. That'll mean we've come to another covered manhole. I just hope we can make it back home before dinner...."</p><p> "We will. Just try and relax." Haleigh told him. "Knowing London, another manhole shouldn't be too far away."</p><p> "Who were those guys?" Romulus asked with a gulp. "And did you hear what they said? Why do I feel like I know what they were talking about?"</p><p> "You're not the only one...I got that same feeling, just before we snuck off." the young teenager said. "If Uncle Luke was still here, we would be able to ask him. He would know a lot about that stuff."</p><p> "Force-sensitive? Jedi?" Romulus added. "Grandma would know all about that, as well! I think she said Uncle Luke was one. But what I wanna know is...why were those guys looking for three force-sensitive future Jedi? I thought the Jedi died out, a long time ago!"</p><p> "They did." Haleigh replied. "Or, at least...that's what Uncle Luke told us."</p><p> Uncle Luke wasn't really Haleigh's uncle. He had been living with his sister, Leia...Sierra's and Romulus' grandmother...and had helped raise her after the young girl's parents had both passed away. When Haleigh and the siblings were younger, both Luke and Leia had told them many stories of their galactic adventures, including a few stories about Luke's first Jedi Master, Old Ben. So, the children had some knowledge about what the soldiers had been talking about.</p><p> "If we make it home, we'll need to stop by Grandma's library." Romulus said as he lead his sister onward. "Because now, I'm curious."</p><p> "I'll join you." Haleigh said. "Something just doesn't feel right about what's happening, out there. And not just the obvious soldiers-are-taking-over-our-home thing."</p><p> "We need to tell Dad about this!" the boy said. "He and Mom were just as close to Grandma and Uncle Luke as we were. Surely, Dad would have some sort of plan." </p><p> "Agreed...." Haleigh replied, then paused. "Wow...you really are the smart one in this group, aren't ya?" </p><p> "I tend to get like that when I'm feeling this panicky...." Romulus told her, unfazed by the comment, not that his friend had meant it in a bad way, anyway.</p><p> </p><p> After what felt like hours, the children finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. However, they hadn't been able to spot any more manholes...Romulus figured that it was just better to keep going and find the end to the sewer. </p><p> Outside, the children discovered that they had ended up in the forest that was just outside of town. It was a large forest, which was hilly in some areas, and those areas usually had fallen logs or little creeks. It was still pouring rain, outside...but at that point, the children couldn't care less that they were getting soaked and filthy. They climbed up to the top of the hill that the tunnel sat under, and Haleigh leaned against the tree as she and her friends took a minute to rest.</p><p> Suddenly, Sierra let out a gasp of shock, causing her brother and Haleigh to look at her...she pointed at Haleigh's side, her eyes wide and filled with worry. Haleigh looked down, and remembered that she had gotten shot by one of the armored men, earlier. She covered the still-bleeding wound with her hand...most of it was now dried up, at this point. </p><p> "I'm alright, Sierra...I think it's just a scratch." the teenager said, and Romulus signed her response to his sister. </p><p> But this didn't ease Sierra's worry. Cautiously, she checked the wound over, despite her friend's protests. While Haleigh was correct that it was only a scratch, the middle child still felt the need to get it taken care of. Unfortunately, her medical kit was at home.... </p><p> "Are you sure you're alright, Leigh?" Romulus asked, great worry written all over his face. "That looks pretty bad!" </p><p> "Really, I'm fine, guys." Haleigh told the siblings. "I don't even feel it, thanks to this weather."</p><p> Romulus signed what she said to his sister. Sierra then asked, "So...what, now? No doubt those men have taken over our town, at this point! And what about the school? Do you think everyone will be alright?"</p><p> Haleigh winced, and gave it some thought.... She then spoke and signed at the same time. "Honestly...as much as I hate to say this...." she said. "We may have to leave that to the police...hopefully, they'll be able to sort things out and keep everyone safe. Right now, we need to focus on getting ourselves home and out of this rain, before we really do get sick."</p><p> A loud twig snapped, causing the children to gasp in surprise and huddle together behind the tree. In seconds, voices of men could be heard. Haleigh peeked around the tree, and caught sight of a group of armored soldiers seemingly patrolling the area. She mouthed to her friends, "We need to leave. Now!" Romulus, his face full of worry and anxiety, motioned to the opposite direction of where the soldiers were. Sierra and Haleigh nodded. Together, the three children snuck away and ran off as quietly as they could, praying that they wouldn't get caught or shot at.</p><p> </p><p> A while later, the children emerged from the forest, always making sure they weren't going to get caught. The siblings' father didn't work far from the forest...quite close, actually! Romulus had his hold on his sister's wrist, again, as he lead the way to the building where their father worked.</p><p> However, by the time they got there and hid as best as they could, their hearts sank when they saw that the building had been torched! Without thinking, Romulus let go of Sierra's wrist, and dashed inside!</p><p> "Romulus, wait!" Haleigh called out in fear. She suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.... Making sure no soldier was around, she took Sierra by the wrist, and followed the boy into the building. </p><p> Inside, everything was burnt to a crisp...including several people.... The smell of smoke and burnt flesh and bone invaded the children's noses, almost making them gag. However, they stayed strong and tried to ignore it. Sierra let out a gasp and covered her mouth in horror as she and Haleigh looked around at the horrible scene. Haleigh felt her heart sink as she looked at all people who had perished.... Almost immediately, she knew that the armored soldiers had done this. </p><p> <em>But why?</em> she thought. <em>What do they hope to gain by doing this?</em> </p><p> Her hands shaking, she stepped forward, being extra careful not to step on anything...or anyone. "....Romulus?" she gently called out to her friend. Behind her, Sierra followed, her eyes still looking around at the nightmare surrounding them. </p><p> The girls soon found Romulus, who was standing near a damaged elevator, and looking down at a skeletal body. As Haleigh and Sierra got closer, they could see that the body had belonged to the siblings' father.... </p><p> "No-!" Sierra let out a strangled cry before slapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. She fell onto her knees, and sobbed. Romulus stood there, his face in shock at the sight before him. His father was dead...burnt literally to the bone! With his mind a total blank, he subconsciously gently placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. Haleigh was just as in shock as her friends were...not only did these soldiers invade her hometown, but they also took away the only other parent she ever knew! Whoever these soldiers were, they messed with the wrong family! </p><p> Part of Haleigh wanted to get revenge for her friends...however, she knew that she wasn't much a fighter, and her bravery needed work. Not only that, but she had already been shot, once...she wasn't ready to go through that again, even if it was only a scratch. </p><p> Haleigh balled her fists, angrily, as her heart crumbled at the sound of Sierra's crying. <em>Someday....</em> she thought with determination. <em>Someday, these jerks will pay!</em> </p><p> She crouched down, and pulled the siblings into a tight hug, tears beginning to well in her own eyes...at the same time, the shock that Romulus had been feeling melted into tears of his own. Haleigh wasn't the best at giving comfort with words...but to Sierra and Romulus, that was never a problem. A simple hug was just enough....</p><p> Romulus sniffed, and signed to his sister. "We should go.... I hate leaving Dad, like this, but those guys could be anywhere near here, right now." </p><p> Sierra thought, for a short moment, then nodded in agreement. </p><p> "Let's go home...there's nothing we can do, here." Haleigh told them, sadly. Her eyes were clouded with depression as the siblings took her hands and stood up. </p><p> "They'll pay for this, Leigh...." Romulus whispered, his voice quivering along with his bottom lip. "Those jerks are going to pay!"</p><p> "I agree...but, let's talk more of this at home." the teenager told him, softly. "And then, let's try and get out of town. It's no longer safe, here, right now." </p><p> Romulus nodded, albeit hesitantly.</p><p> The children then left the building...and just in time, too, as part of it suddenly collapsed right behind them and causing new flames to appear! Romulus took his sister's wrist as she began to cry, again. Haleigh took their hands, again, and lead them away while being cautious about not getting caught by any soldiers that could be nearby.</p><p> <em>Today's weather definitely matches this whole nightmare</em><em>.</em> the teenager thought as the rain continued to pour in buckets. Even thunder sounded from above. <em>We better get home before the lightning starts up.</em></p><p> The children hurried home, never abandoning the idea of being stealthy and avoiding getting caught. Their surroundings looked like the end of the world...buildings on fire, bodies of people lying burnt, cars stopped at angles or flipped over, and groups of soldiers spread out all over town...either conversing or hunting for anybody who could tell them about the three future Jedi that they were looking for. </p><p> Other than all of that, the atmosphere was eerie...even the coming storm gave the children a feeling of dread.</p><p> </p><p> At long last, the children finally made it home...a large brick 2-story home with a very large empty pool in the backyard. The siblings' father had been a wealthy man...unfortunately, the wealth was part of what made the children outsiders to their school. They didn't have any housemaids, or a butler, or any sort of servants, really. There was no need for them, as the children grew up doing everything, themselves, with no problems...they were even mature enough to stay home without anybody looking after them.</p><p> Haleigh and the siblings trampled inside, not caring that they tracked puddles of water and mud. Haleigh shut and locked the front door, then rushed to lock the back door. Meanwhile, Sierra and Romulus made sure every window in the house was locked, tight. They even drew every curtain closed. </p><p> The next thing they did was gather in the library, which wasn't terribly large but still held many useful books on many things...including books that Uncle Luke had written just for them about his life in space...a life that he had shared with his sister and friends when they were adults. Haleigh and Romulus sat down in front of a shelf as Sierra came in with her medical kit. She immediately got right to work on her friend's wound from earlier, having done much research on the medical field and what to do...she had a pretty good idea on all the does and don'ts of a nurse or doctor. </p><p> "So...." Romulus muttered, sadly. On the inside, he was trying as hard as he could to not freak out, again, about everything that was happening in his town, right now, and the fact that he had just lost his father. "Dad's gone...our hometown's being invaded by murderous soldiers with guns, there's a giant space-ship hovering over town, our school is most likely doomed, and we have to leave town." He looked at Haleigh. "What next?" His glasses were slightly foggy and dirty from earlier, but he didn't care enough to clean them, at the moment. </p><p> Haleigh could tell that he was definitely fighting with himself, and she tried to figure out exactly what to do next. "Well...we did say we were going to do some research on this whole Jedi thing." she said, softly. "For now, I think that's all we can do before we start packing what we can...."</p><p> "But, do we have the time to do any research?" the boy asked, uncertainly. "I mean, those guys could come up to our house at any minute!"</p><p> "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." his friend replied. He could tell that she was just as freaked out by today's events as he was, and that she was trying to be brave about it for him and Sierra. "Let's start with Uncle Luke. What about those books he wrote for us? Wasn't one of them a fact-file book or something?" </p><p> Romulus frowned in thought. Then, he looked at the bookshelf behind them, and began combing through until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a large rectangle-shaped book with a galactic cover on it. He opened it up, and began flipping through pages.</p><p> Haleigh let out a pained hiss at the medicine Sierra was putting on her wound. Sierra gave her a quick glance before continuing her work. </p><p> "Here...." Romulus said, and shared the book with the teenager. He pointed at a picture of Uncle Luke from when he was younger, in a fighting pose and holding a green-glowing sword, as if ready to strike. "That's Uncle Luke when he was younger...and he was a Jedi! Apparently, the Jedi are supposed to be these peace-keepers of the galaxy, protecting innocent people from evil-doers. There's this thing called 'the Force' that they use to aid them in battle. The Force can give the Jedi many abilities, such as...telekinesis, premonition, jumping skills, something that's like a sixth sense...stuff like that. The Jedi also meditate when needed to, and there was once even a group of people called the Jedi Council!"</p><p> "Sixth sense...." Haleigh mused, thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's what happened to us, just before our school was invaded."</p><p> "The hearing voices thing?" Romulus said, and nodded. "Yeah...I think that might be a possibility. But, if that's the case, then are we...well...Force-sensitive? I'm telling you, I've been getting some weird mental sensations ever since Grandma passed away. Sierra's been getting the same thing!" </p><p> "I've been getting weird feelings for years, too...since my own Dad died." Haleigh told him. "I've even been getting weird dreams, every once in a blue moon." She paused, and thought, hard. "Come to think of it...the last dream I had might have been a premonition...."</p><p> Romulus raised an eyebrow at her in surprise.</p><p> "I didn't say anything because I thought it would've sounded crazy." the teenager said. "The only person who ever knew about it...was Uncle Luke."</p><p> "What was the dream about?" Romulus asked, curiously. "Do you remember?"</p><p> Haleigh squeezed her eyes shut, and placed a hand on her head. "I remember...seeing...that space-ship, our school, and our town in chaos...but, that's all I can remember...." she replied, and felt frustrated for not remembering everything that had happened in that dream. "Those visions felt so jumbled up...I couldn't tell exactly what was happening."</p><p> "It's ok, Leigh...." Romulus told her. "You saw the ship. That tells us something. Clearly, it's not a ship owned by the military or the government or anything. It's something like...like...." He flipped through the pages, again, a concentrated frown on his face. "Like...this." He pointed at a picture of a space-ship that somewhat resembled a dinner-plate, but had a pointed front. "It's obviously from space. Unless the government's been secretly building futuristic ships that go into space, there's no other explanation! And those soldiers mentioned future Jedi...but that can't be possible because Grandma and Uncle Luke were the last of the Jedi! Or, so they told us! And if we're Force-sensitive...."</p><p> Sierra, who had finished her work on Haleigh, was looking through the drawers of the desk in the corner of the library. Just then, when she opened a middle drawer, she immediately spotted an old-looking envelope. She pulled it out, and saw that her name was on the front of it, along with her brother's, and Haleigh's. It looked like Uncle Luke's handwriting: cursive, but not very neat. Curiously, she opened the envelope, and tried to read a letter that was inside. In seconds, her eyes widened.</p><p> "Guys, look!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to her brother and Haleigh. "Uncle Luke left us a letter!" She handed the letter to Haleigh for her to read, since Sierra had trouble reading, and Romulus was in charge of Uncle Luke's book.</p><p> Haleigh gently took the letter, and told Romulus to sign everything she read to his sister.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter III: Uncle Luke's Secret</h2></a>
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    <p> Haleigh looked down at the letter. The paper looked like a sheet of old parchment, and the handwriting she recognized as Uncle Luke's. The whole letter looked like it had been written with an ink-dipped feather, unlike today's pens. She made sure her voice was clear as began reading to the siblings....</p><p> "'<em>My dear Sierra, Romulus, and Haleigh...I wanted to tell you of this when you were young children. However, your parents and grandmother felt it was better to say it in a letter for you to read once you were of age. By now, I am sure you all would be sensing the Force in some way....</em></p><p>
  <em> I have told you, countless times, the stories of my adventures with my sister and friends. I have also told you that I was once a Jedi Knight...I suppose I still am. Well, when you were born, Romulus and Sierra, I had a premonition of the future. Yours...and one so terrible, I felt like I needed to do something to try and change it. This was why I told you of all my adventures in the far galaxies. I was trying to prepare you all for a day when you would need to leave London...leave Earth, entirely. I was trying to keep the three of you safe from the harm that would come. In my vision, I saw our town burning, your school in danger, and a large ship with soldiers beginning to invade the planet...looking for you. I only remember pieces...but, I didn't want to take any chances.</em>
</p><p><em> Once the day comes, take whatever you can, and your knowledge of all that I have ever told you. Leave Earth, swiftly, and without drawing too much attention. Travel as far into space as you can, until you reach Coruscant, where the Jedi Council once resided...one of them being your great-grandfather, Haleigh.</em>'" </p><p> Haleigh shared looks of surprise with her friends. "My great-grandfather-?" she whispered, unable to complete her sentence. </p><p> "There's more on the back." Sierra told her.</p><p> The teenager flipped the letter over, and saw that her friend was right. On the back was more of Uncle Luke's letter. She continued reading....</p><p> "'<em>I know this may all come as a great surprise to all of you...but I am not pulling your leg. What I am telling you is the truth...this entire secret I felt I needed to keep from Earth, and tell only to you and your parents. Haleigh, that includes yours, as well. Yes...I knew them.... </em></p><p>
  <em> Ever since having that vision, I believed that the Force felt it would be fate for you three to go to Coruscant. I have yet to figure out why there, specifically. I am sure there must be a good reason....</em>
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  <em> Fear not of the many different beings you may meet, whether it be people or animal. It may very well become your new life, being surrounded by such.</em>
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  <em> Romulus, you're in charge of all my books that I have written for you, your sister, and your friend. They may come in handy. But keep in mind that while I have lived most of my life in the seas of stars, I do not know everything. When it comes to the talk of Jedi, I know only of what Old Ben Kenobi had taught me. If you require more information, I suggest looking into any library you may come across. That goes for you and Haleigh, for I know she will be just as curious. I know you are a smart youngling...I have seen you figure things out faster than some children. If you ever lose your sight, never let it hinder you or your abilities.</em>
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  <em> Sierra, I have sensed that you have a talent for being a medic. I could see it the first time you had helped your brother when he was small. You know exactly what to do, and you never asked for any help. I encourage you to continue the work you love, even after reaching Coruscant. Take good care of your brother and Haleigh. Learn what you can, and teach to those who share your interests. Do not let your loss of hearing defeat you.</em>
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  <em> And Haleigh...take extra care of the siblings. They need you just as much as you need them. I know this to be true. As the eldest, I need you to be brave for them. Protect them, no matter what. They are your family, now. I am aware of what you suffer from...but in despite of this, there are a few important things I would like for you to keep in mind: patience, responsibility, and confidence. You will understand what I mean when the time comes. I know how much of a fighter you are...your great-grandfather would be proud. Do not let your inner suffering take control and hold you back. Learn at your own pace...no matter the difficulty, you will understand it.</em>
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  <em> There are many life lessons I had hoped to teach all of you, and not just how to defend yourselves the way I had learned. Unfortunately, it would seem fate will need to do that for you. No matter what happens, children...never lose sight of who you are. </em>
</p><p><em> I wish you well and luck on your journey, and please, be safe. Your uncle, Luke.</em>'"</p><p> Haleigh folded the letter closed, a million thoughts racing through her head. </p><p> "I have...so many questions...." Romulus muttered. "One of them, for sure: how does Uncle Luke expect us to leave Earth? Surely, this invasion can't spread all over the world! ....Right?"</p><p> "If these horrible men have taken over London...then, there's no doubt they will do the same to the rest of the world...." Sierra commented with a sad look. "Is there really nothing we can do to stop it?"</p><p> "We're just kids, Sierra!" Romulus said and signed. "I, for one, have no idea how to fight anybody.... Let alone, a bunch of soldiers who can easily shoot us down!" He set the book down next to him, and he pulled his knees up to his chin. "I wish Uncle Luke was still here.... We're just kids!" He buried his face into his knees, feeling his anxiety come back.</p><p> Sierra looked at Haleigh with a hopeful look.</p><p> The teenager opened the letter back up, and reread the whole thing. "....You're right, Romulus. We are kids." she said, making the boy look up at her with a tearful expression. "But, we may not have a choice but to do everything Uncle Luke said in this letter. If we stay here any longer, we will certainly be found and killed." Folding the letter back up, again, she stood up in determination. "I refuse to let anything happen to both of you. So, we're going to find a way off of this planet, and find Coruscant." She turned solemn, for a moment. "Believe me, I hate the idea of leaving everyone, here...and I wish there was something that we can do. Sadly, that isn't an option, right now. Our number one priority is to survive. Romulus...I know you're scared. But, if we stick together like we have been for years, we can do this. If we have to start our life anew on a completely different planet, then so be it. At least until we're able to figure out exactly who is behind this invasion, and possibly fight against them."</p><p> Romulus signed everything to Sierra, then gave his friend's speech a long thought. Finally, he nodded, albeit hesitantly, and stood up. "Ok...I'm in. But for survival. And...." He helped Sierra to her feet. "To protect my sister." </p><p> Haleigh smiled, gently, at him, and nodded. Then, she looked over at Sierra for her opinion.</p><p> "I'm in, too." the middle child said, after a bit of consideration. "These people are going to pay for taking Dad away! I am willing to fight and heal, if that's what it takes."</p><p> Haleigh nodded, again. "Then...let's pack up what we can, and quickly." The siblings nodded. "I don't think extra clothes will be necessary.... If we are going to live on a different planet, we'll have to adopt to whatever attire Coruscant's people wear, even if it does feel strange to us."</p><p> "We'll need to get used to new foods and beverages, too." Romulus sighed, nervously. "I feel like we're in a sci-fi movie.... Do you think they'll have eye-doctors, there?"</p><p> Haleigh couldn't help but smile and laugh, a little. </p><p> "What about money?" Sierra asked, worriedly. "Will we need to learn that, as well?"</p><p> "Well, if we're needing to learn and get used to everything else...." her brother said and signed with a lopsided smile. Sierra nodded, getting the picture. "So, what exactly <em>are</em> we packing?" </p><p> "Everyone, leave behind your school books, but bring along any notepads and as many pens you can." the teenager instructed. "We'll most likely need them. Romulus, I know you like to take notes, especially." The boy nodded as he gave his sister Haleigh's instructions. "Also, Romulus? Pack up as many of Uncle Luke's books as you can. We'll definitely need them. Sierra, it's possible you'll be our medic for this journey, so pack up whatever supplies you'll need for whenever or in case either of us get hurt." Poor Romulus tried to keep up as he quickly signed everything to his sister, who thankfully understood, and nodded.</p><p> "What about you, Leigh?" the boy asked the teenager.</p><p> "I'll pack up whatever food I can for this journey." she replied. "Who knows how long it'll be, and we gotta remember, we'll need and spare it, since we're not going to just get a new home willy-nilly in Coruscant. This is survival we're talking about, so everything will be slow at the start. We'll need to build ourselves up."</p><p> "I was afraid you'd say that...." Romulus muttered with a sigh. "Ok, question that I had, earlier: how do we get to Coruscant...let alone, into space...from here?"</p><p> "Good question...." Haleigh said, thoughtfully. "Maybe, if we're quick enough, we can look for any clues while packing. Oh, speaking of which...don't forget to pack your toothbrushes and toothpaste. Definitely a necessity...." She made a mental note to pack her own personal necessities, herself. </p><p> "Welp! It's a good thing we have large enough packing bags!" Romulus exclaimed, somewhat sarcastically. "Hey! Do you think we'll need showers and disguises?" </p><p> Haleigh paused from exiting the library, and thought that over. "....No time for showers, but we'll definitely cross that disguises bridge when we get there." she replied. </p><p> "Why no showers, again?" Romulus asked with a cringe. He wasn't a fan of the idea of having to travel still covered in rain and mud. </p><p> "Because, we'll need to blend in." the teen girl told him. "We're going to be starting out pretty much homeless, anyway." Romulus nodded, seeing her point. </p><p> Haleigh left her friends to their packing. While she headed down the stairs to the kitchen, she dropped out any schoolbooks her waterproof backpack had been holding. The only thing she left in there was her notebooks and pens. She pulled out her phone, and stopped in the kitchen, staring at it. She pondered on whether or not she should bring it with her.</p><p> <em>What's the point....?</em> she thought, sadly. <em>It's not like we're really ever going to use them, again. Besides...something tells me our phones just won't work in Coruscant.</em> </p><p> She turned her phone on, and bit her lip as she slowly scrolled through her photo gallery. Many of the photos were of her with the siblings and their father...some of the photos were just of the three children, together. As she looked at every one of them, she thought long and hard on what she believed was best to do. </p><p> A gentle touch to her shoulder made her turn around in surprise, but then she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Sierra, who was looking at her with concern and curiosity. "You scared me!" the teenager giggled. She set her phone down onto the counter and her bag onto the floor. She then signed, "I'm fine, don't worry. I was only thinking that maybe it would be best to abandon our phones. We won't need them, anymore...."</p><p> Sierra nodded. "And besides, we can figure out a way to capture new memories!" she said with a gentle smile. "I hardly used my phone, anyway." With that said, she pulled out her phone, and set it down onto the counter. She then gave her friend another smile, before turning to look for any more medical supplies.</p><p> Haleigh watched her leave with a sad look on her face. She agreed that there was the possibility of capturing new memories on Coruscant. She picked up her phone, again, and stared at the last family photo that was ever taken. It was the last one of her with the siblings and their father. "....I'm going to do everything I can to protect them, Uncle Owen." she whispered. "Everything's happening, so fast! ....Is this really what Uncle Luke called 'fate'? Can we really survive all on our own in a completely different world? I suppose...there's only one way to find out, huh?" She felt her eyes brim with tears and her heart feel heavy. She tried to hold back her mourning, though. "Say 'hello' to my parents for me...and Uncle Luke, and Grandma Leia...and, I guess, my great-grandfather, too, whoever he is." She brought her phone over her heart, and took a deep breath as she tilted her head back, letting the tears fall. "I promise, I'll protect Sierra and Romulus. I know they both miss you, so much....!" </p><p> With her heart heavier than before, she set her phone back down onto counter. She didn't bother turning it back off....</p><p> Sniffling, she walked over to the pantry and the fridge. She stored and packed whatever food she could fit into her backpack. Thankfully, it was large enough to be a camping backpack, so there was plenty of room for food, and some bottles of water. </p><p> After doing her part in preparation, she headed back upstairs to check on the siblings.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter IV:The Adventure Begins</h2></a>
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        <p> Upstairs, Haleigh was busy fitting her personal necessities into her backpack. <em>Toothbrush, check...toothpaste, check...hairbrush, check....</em> she thought. <em>Survival knife, check...brain, check...bravery...check....</em> After packing officially everything, she sat down on her bed in exhaustion. Today had been quite a day...a horrible one, at that!</p>
        <p> She looked around her room...it hadn't been cleaned in a while, dusting and vacuuming-wise, anyway. A small pile of dirty clothes sat in one corner, she had a shelf of books and movies that were never going to be touched, again...with a sigh, she stood up and went over to grab her favorite book: an entire collection of Jane Austen stories. It was a thick book...surely, she could find some room left in her backpack. She then also grabbed her leather journal. She had barely written in it...now, she possibly had the chance to do so. Luckily, she was able to find enough room for both books. She looked around her room, again...it wasn't incredibly messy. But, she was going to miss it all: the colors of the walls, the smooth wooden flooring with the black rectangular faux-furry rug in the middle, her nice and comfortable bed, and even her closet of tomboyish clothes and shoes. She was never going to wear them, again.</p>
        <p> Just then, Romulus came in, interrupting her reminiscing. "Ok! All important and information-filled books are packed, necessities are packed, my bravery is packed...." he told her.</p>
        <p> "Pull your bravery back out, Rom." Haleigh told him with a small shake of her head. "You're going to need it."</p>
        <p> "I was afraid you'd say that." the boy sighed in defeat. "I'm going downstairs to pack up my snacks."</p>
        <p> "You mean, your pumpkin pop-tarts?" the girl asked with a teasing smile. "You do realize we'll run out of all of our favorite snacks, eventually. Right?"</p>
        <p> "Pumpkin pop-tarts are delicious, and I am not leaving without them." he told her. He gave her a short nod before leaving the room.</p>
        <p> Soon after, Sierra came in, and noticed the sad smile on her friend's face. "Things are going to be very different, now...aren't they?" she asked. On her back was a camping backpack similar to her friend's and brother's.</p>
        <p> Haleigh looked up at her, and nodded. </p>
        <p> "Well...." the middle child sighed. "I've packed up all the medical supplies I could find, along with my necessities.... I can't believe this is really happening. It's become a living nightmare, today.... Who could have seen this coming?"</p>
        <p> "Uncle Luke and I, I suppose." Haleigh said and signed.</p>
        <p> "Oh, right...I forgot about that." Sierra said, bashfully. "Still...the three of us are giving up the life we've known since we were born, only to leave Earth, somehow, and live on an entirely different planet we've never heard of until now! I still fear for the rest of our world.... I just hope we'll be able to make our new life a good and long one."</p>
        <p> "And someday, perhaps we will come back with many new skills to fight this enemy." Haleigh told her. "Hopefully, Earth won't be a total war-zone, by then.... We'll just have to make the best of our new life as we can, no matter how hard it is. And if I know anything from books...it's that survival is definitely not easy."</p>
        <p> "It's a good thing you're in charge, Leigh." Sierra told her with a small smile. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't have a clue on what to do, at all...."</p>
        <p> "I guess that's one of the benefits of being a reader." her friend said. "You get to learn, a lot."</p>
        <p> "Haleigh, Sierra!!! Come down here!!! There's something you gotta see!!!" Romulus shouted from downstairs. The girls gave each other looks before racing downstairs...Haleigh snatched up her backpack from her bed as she lead the way.</p>
        <p> Downstairs, the girls looked around for the boy. "Romulus, where are you?!" Haleigh called out, worriedly.</p>
        <p> "I'm in the basement!" he responded. </p>
        <p> "The basement?" the teen girl signed to Sierra, and shared a confused look with her. All their life, the children had never been allowed down in the basement...so, what was Romulus doing down there?</p>
        <p> The girls hurried down into the basement, and met up with Romulus, who looked like he was about to have a panic-attack! He pointed ahead of them. "Look, there! I think I know why Grandma and Uncle Luke never let us down here." he told them.</p>
        <p> Cautiously, Haleigh walked forward...and her eyes widened at what she saw: a space-ship! Although it didn't look quite as large as the enemy ship, it was still a pretty shocking sight! The main part of it looked like it was meant fit both pilot and passengers. The ship, itself, was grey and a little rusty, telling the children that it had been sitting in the basement for quite some time! Above it was like an opening where the pool would be.</p>
        <p> "A ship?! Down here?!" Romulus exclaimed, loudly. "Well, now I know why our pool is so damn big!" </p>
        <p> At this point, Haleigh was too surprised to pay attention to her friend's swearing. Just what was this ship doing, down here, and why was it even hidden on Earth, in the first place? As she studied the large vehicle, she noticed a faded name on it's side. "<em>The Phoenix Star</em>...." she muttered. A little more loudly, she said, "Hey, Rom...I think we've found the answer to your question, earlier...."</p>
        <p> Romulus took a minute to calm himself down and think. "Ok...but does it even work?" he asked. "I mean, it looks like it's been sitting down here for years!"</p>
        <p> "It should.... It doesn't look that old." the teen girl replied. "Do you think you can fly it?"</p>
        <p> "I mean...I never took any piloting classes...." the boy said. "But, if it works, maybe I can figure it out." He stepped toward the ship. "It shouldn't be too difficult.... Hey, the ramp's already down!"</p>
        <p> "What? How?" Haleigh asked in surprise. </p>
        <p> "I'm guessing it's been down as long as this thing's been down here." he replied. "I'm gonna go in and check things out."</p>
        <p> Before Haleigh could say anything, Sierra's voice sounded from upstairs. "Haleigh!!!"</p>
        <p> Haleigh let out a short sigh. "Don't touch anything, yet, Rom!" she called out to the boy, who was already inside the ship. "I'll be right back down!" She then turned and ran up the stairs. She immediately spotted Sierra peeking out from the curtain and looking outside.</p>
        <p> The teenage girl gave her friend a light tap, and looked out the window with her. She let out a gasp of fear.... "Soldiers! Or...troopers! They've found us!" she exclaimed. The second a trooper spotted them, she grabbed Sierra's hand, and lead her back down to the basement, slamming the door shut behind them! Together, the two girls ran toward the ship!</p>
        <p> "Romulus, start this thing up!!!" Haleigh exclaimed in a panic. "Those guys found our house!"</p>
        <p> "What?!" Romulus yelled in fear, his voice beginning to crack. "But I haven't even begun figuring anything out! Oh great, we're done for...."</p>
        <p> "Just hit something, Rom!" Sierra exclaimed in fear. "Hurry!!!"</p>
        <p> "Ok, ok! Uh...." the boy said, and quickly glanced at every button in front of him. Finally, he pressed a couple of buttons...and the ship jolted with a start, causing the girls to tumble over. "Right. Ramp up, first...." Romulus muttered, and looked behind him. "Leigh! See if those buttons, back there, raises the ramp!"</p>
        <p> Haleigh scrambled to her feet and immediately hit the buttons. Much to her amazement, the ramp lifted and closed! </p>
        <p> Suddenly, it was as if something clicked in the boy's brain as he continued to glance at every button! "Haleigh, get Sierra seated next to me! We're taking off!" As Haleigh got his sister seated and buckled, Romulus hit some buttons that were over his head. His eyes widened when the ceiling that was supposed to be the pool opened up! "I am making some very wild guesses, here....!"</p>
        <p> "Romulus, we gotta move!" Haleigh shouted, and pointed out the pilot's side window. The troops were trying to bash down the basement door!</p>
        <p> "Shit!" Romulus swore in panic as he pulled down a lever on the dashboard and grabbed hold of the steering wheel. The children nervously looked about as the ship began to stutter and move! </p>
        <p> "You're doing it, Rom!" Sierra said, taking notice of everything, despite her disability. "The ship's working!"</p>
        <p> "Now, to take it out of here." Romulus bravely declared. "Hang on to something, Haleigh!" The teen girl grabbed hold of the pilot's and passenger seats as the ship whirred to life and began to tilt up toward the opening. Romulus worked some magic, and the ship lurched upward, picking up speed as it headed towards the sky!</p>
        <p> "We're doing it...we're actually leaving our home planet....!" the boy said, nervously.</p>
        <p> "Focus, Rom!" Haleigh told him. "Don't think about your anxiety, right now."</p>
        <p> Romulus slapped himself with one hand. "Right! Escape! Got it!" he said. He pushed forward another lever, and the <em>Phoenix Star</em> picked up even more speed! The ride was definitely rocky, at first, and it felt like ages to the children as the ship continued towards the sky and leaving behind the world they were born and raised in. </p>
        <p> The children took one last look back in silent sadness as everything grew smaller and smaller by the seconds.... <em>Goodbye....</em> they thought in unison. Then, fighting back tears, Romulus turned his focus back onto the front of the ship. </p>
        <p> They watched as millions of stars began to appear before them...and the sight nearly took their breath away! In seconds, they were surrounded by stars and the black seemingly endless abyss, with Earth right behind them. Even Romulus, the skittish boy with anxiety, was awestruck! Large as life, they could see the sun in their peripheral vision...and they could see a couple of other planets in their sights.</p>
        <p> "We.... We did it!" Romulus whispered. "We actually escaped! And with our lives!" He looked down at the panel of buttons in front of him. "This ship is fast! ....What do these do?" He then hit a few different buttons before the girls could protest or say anything. When he pulled down the one lever, he got his answer as the ship suddenly revved up, and sped forward so fast, it knocked Haleigh right off of her feet!</p>
        <p> "Romulus!" she protested, but whatever she was going to say next was lost to her as she watched the millions of stars fly by like a million lights! </p>
        <p> Sierra gasped in amazement as she, too, watched everything become a speeding blur.</p>
        <p> Haleigh was no genius in science or astrology (astronomy?)...all she knew was that the <em>Phoenix Star</em> was going much faster than before. She could only hope that Romulus knew how to slow it down....</p>
        <p> After a while, she said, "I...I think we're far enough from Earth, now, Romulus!" she cried out. </p>
        <p> The boy pulled down the lever, and the ship came to a sudden slow-down, causing Haleigh to lurch forward and lose her footing, again. </p>
        <p> In the middle of possibly nowhere, the children's hearts were pounding in their chests, and they were trying to calm themselves down from the adrenaline that they just had. "Ok...<em>now</em>, I think we've <em>officially</em> escaped with our lives...." Romulus said, breathlessly. He looked over at his sister, and gently patted her arm. He asked her in sign-language if she was ok, and she nodded. He could tell, though, that she was still trying to process everything that just happened. "You ok, Leigh?"</p>
        <p> "Well, other than a few new bruises...yes, I think I'm alright." Haleigh replied. She, too, was breathless. "That...was wild!"</p>
        <p> "Definitely something to tell our future kids, huh?" Romulus half-joked. "Who am I kidding.... Nobody's gonna believe this! Not even on this Coruscant planet!"</p>
        <p> "We don't know that." Haleigh told him. "Although...I do suggest we keep what just happened on the DL. We don't know who we can trust, yet."</p>
        <p> "Good point." her friend said in agreement. "So, uhm...where, exactly, are we? Other than the obvious?" </p>
        <p> The children looked around. The <em>Phoenix Star</em> was currently in halt mode, but it was still up and running. Outside, though...there was nothing but stars and the dark abyss of space. </p>
        <p> "Well...I'm not seeing any other ships around." Haleigh said. </p>
        <p> "Maybe now, we can take a breather and try to figure things out." Sierra suggested. "Like, anything about this ship...maybe it has a map or something that can tell us if there are any nearby planets! One of them being our destination...." She unbuckled from her seat, and stood up to walk past her friend.</p>
        <p> "Sierra's right. For now, I think we're in the clear." Haleigh told Romulus with a nod. "Where's your bag? Maybe Uncle Luke's books can us tell something. Like, I don't know...a manual for the ship?"</p>
        <p> Before the boy could answer, Sierra made a sound of interest, causing her brother and friend to look over at her. She held up some yellow papers that were stapled together on the side like a book. On the first sheet was a drawing of the <em>Phoenix Star</em>. </p>
        <p> "....Hey, look! A manual!" Haleigh said, and Romulus scoffed and laughed at his friend's odd sarcasm. Sierra handed the papers to Haleigh, who then handed it to Romulus. "Why don't you look this over while I flip through Uncle Luke's books?" </p>
        <p> "Oh, yeah! I put my bag somewhere, back there." the kid said as he took the papers. </p>
        <p> Haleigh turned and looked around the ship. It didn't take long for her to spot Romulus' backpack. She unzipped the biggest section, and pulled all of the books that the boy had packed. One by one, she began flipping through them, searching for anything that might look like a map...or anything that could tell how far Coruscant could be from Earth.</p>
        <p> Sierra, meanwhile, was starving. She pulled out a box of nilla wafer cookies that she had packed into her backpack. She sat, patiently, on the floor of the ship while waiting for her brother or friend to say something of interest.</p>
        <p> After a while, Romulus pressed some buttons that he had seen listed in the "manual". An orange hologram of some sort of map popped up above the steering wheel. On the hologram were any planets that could be close by. While he tried to figure that out, Haleigh was exploring a bit of the ship, her curiosity getting the better of her as she pressed a few harmless buttons.</p>
        <p> Then, something on the floor hidden from plain view caught her eye. She got down on her knees, and fished out what looked like the hilt of something. There was a small button on the side of it...curiously, she pressed it, and fell back in great surprise when an orange-glowing sword popped up!</p>
        <p> "Whoa!!!" Romulus exclaimed, having heard the sound of the weapon. "You found one!"</p>
        <p> "Cool! ....What did I find, exactly?" Haleigh asked. </p>
        <p> "Dude! That's a lightsaber!" the boy told her, getting out of his seat and walking toward her. "Remember that picture of Uncle Luke from when he was younger? He was holding a lightsaber in that!" He frowned in thought, then. "What's an orange lightsaber doing on the ship? And why is it orange, anyway? I thought the only lightsaber colors were blue and green!"</p>
        <p> "Maybe there are more colors than we thought." Haleigh told him, studying the weapon as she stood up. "It's also possible that Uncle Luke only knew about blue and green lightsabers...." She remembered watching some movies that had sword-fighting in them. She swung the weapon, trying out a few moves but also being aware of her surroundings.</p>
        <p> "Wow! You actually look really cool with that thing!" Romulus told her with a half-smile. "Seriously, it feels like you were meant to use something like this, Leigh."</p>
        <p> "You think so?" Haleigh asked with a raised eyebrow, then tried out another move. "....Huh! Interesting...."</p>
        <p> "Hell yeah, it is!" Romulus said. "Leigh, you totally look like a Jedi, right now! Just don't hurt us with that thing, please...."</p>
        <p> Haleigh gave him a look. "Relax, I'm being careful." she told him, then stood up straight while holding the lightsaber with the tip of it pointing upwards. "Let's see.... Uncle Luke always told us that his lightsaber was always green. I don't think this is his...." </p>
        <p> Romulus shook his head. "Man, Uncle Luke is becoming such a mystery, now." he said. "He did tell us all that we needed to know through his stories...but it feels like there's a lot that he didn't tell us."</p>
        <p> "Well, he did also tell us that he didn't know literally everything about anything that has to do with Jedi and such." the teen girl replied. "He only know what he grew up on, and what Old Ben had taught him."</p>
        <p> "Crap...I did forget about that...." the boy said. "Hey, quick change of subject, but uhm...didn't you say something, earlier, about disguises? Trying to blend in?" He looked down at himself, and cringed. "Other than the fact that we look and smell like we've lived in the sewers."</p>
        <p> Haleigh turned the lightsaber off. "Oh, right.... Yes, disguises are a must." she told him. "I never thought we'd ever have to do this in our life." She looked over at Sierra, who had been watching the two, intently, as they conversed. "....Let your sister know that she may want to do something about her hair." She had a feeling her friend would definitely stand out in the crowd, since Sierra's hair was dyed blue. </p>
        <p> Romulus signed to his sister, and Sierra seemed to think, for a minute. "I think I'll let the color fade out." she said. "It'll take a while...but at least I'll be back to my dark-haired self, in the end. We'll have to find me a hoodie until then."</p>
        <p> "You mean...something like this?" Haleigh asked as she pulled out a hooded dark-brown cloak from a mini closet that she had spotted and gotten curious of. Romulus pointed at the hooded cloak and looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow.</p>
        <p> "Oh, that's perfect!" Sierra exclaimed. "And, I usually have my hair pulled back in some sort of style, so that plus this cloak...nobody can see my blue hair!"</p>
        <p> "Only if you're comfortable with doing it that way, sis!" Romulus said and signed to her.</p>
        <p> "Alright, kiddo, you're turn. What're you going to do?" Haleigh asked after putting away the cloak. "Lose the glasses?"</p>
        <p> "Hell no, I'm not abandoning these!" the boy exclaimed, and pointed at his glasses. "I need them, dummy! I can't see without them!"</p>
        <p> "Alright, alright, calm down." the teen girl said with a small smile. "I was only joking."</p>
        <p> Romulus sighed. "I dunno...maybe I'll have you or Sierra give me a buzz-cut or something." he said.</p>
        <p> Haleigh thought, for a moment. "Perhaps...all you really need is a change of clothes." she told him. "I mean...I don't think those troopers got a real good look at us...."</p>
        <p> Romulus perked up. "Yeah! They only caught a glance of us, so it's not like they'll recognize us, next time!" he exclaimed. "Let's see if a change of clothes is all I'll need. What about you?"</p>
        <p> Haleigh gave a small and sad smile. Then, she pulled her survival knife from her backpack, and raised the bladed edge to her hair as she gathered it up in her hands. The siblings stared at her with wide eyes in surprise.</p>
        <p> "Leigh...are you sure?" Romulus asked her, softly. </p>
        <p> "For the sake of staying safe and unrecognizable in any way...." she replied, and with one swipe, she cut her chin-short. "I will gladly give this up."</p>
        <p> "But...you've been wanting your hair that long for years!" Romulus told her. </p>
        <p> Haleigh shook her head. "Hair can grow back." she said. "I don't mind waiting another many months." She stared down at the hair in her hand...only now, she was noticing how messy it was. "Hey! At least it'll be easier to brush out!"</p>
        <p> The siblings gave each other surprised and unsure looks. However, they decided not to press the matter any further.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter V: Coruscant and the Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just want to quickly apologize for any spelling mistakes I might have made. I type kinda fast, so that kinda makes me make mistakes, most times. I try not to, but when I've gotten myself so immersed into writing a chapter...I can't help it. It's just something that has always happened to me. I hope you guys understand what I'm trying to say, though, in my stories. </p><p> Ok, back to it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> At some point, the children had fallen asleep. After dealing with a nightmare of day, losing their father, and escaping their home planet...the nap was very much needed. Romulus had figured out how to switch on auto-pilot, so the <em>Phoenix Star</em> was currently slowly making its way throughout space. </p><p> Both Romulus and Sierra slept on the pilot and passenger seats, while Haleigh slept on the floor, using her backpack as a pillow. At her side lay the lightsaber...for some reason, the teen girl felt better with it in easy reach, just in case. She had pulled the sides of her hair back into a mini high-ponytail, the style being comfortable for her.</p><p> A loud ping startled Romulus awake, and he glanced around before noticing that the hologram above the steering wheel had popped up, revealing a nearby planet. He looked ahead, and saw said planet in the distance! "Hey, guys! Wake up!" he said. "I think we're coming up to Coruscant!" He looked over at his sister, remembering that she couldn't hear, and gently shook her awake before pointing at the planet. Sierra sat up with interest, despite how groggy she felt.</p><p> Meanwhile, Haleigh grumbled in exhaustion. "Five more minutes...." she mumbled. </p><p> "Leigh, I'm serious!" Romulus told her.</p><p> With an irritated sigh, Haleigh slowly stood up. "How do you know if its Coruscant?" she asked, groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.</p><p> "The hologram said so." the boy replied, simply.</p><p> Haleigh looked ahead, and watched as the ship drew closer to the planet. It certainly looked different from Earth! As they got closer, the children noticed that the planet was covered in lit patterns. The sight completely woke up the teen girl, and she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "Whoa...." she whispered.</p><p> "Whoa is right! ....I hope we can breathe, here." Romulus said.</p><p> "I'm sure we can...." Haleigh told him. "Uncle Luke said in his books that at least most of the planets are breathable and livable. Coruscant being one of them." </p><p> "I hope you're right." the boy said with a worried look. </p><p> Haleigh grabbed one of the books from the floor, and flipped it open. "This book is on the planets Uncle Luke and Old Ben has ever visited." she said. "Coruscant is supposed to be a literal city-covered planet."</p><p> "Sounds...interesting." Romulus commented, and hit a few buttons. "Hang on to something, everybody!"</p><p> The ride into the planet was rocky, but the kids were prepared for it. Entering and leaving planets was always going to be rough. Luckily, Romulus was proving to be a talented pilot!</p><p> "For someone who's never taken flying lessons, you certainly know what you're doing!" Haleigh told him, looking impressed. </p><p> "I guess all that reading and watching sci-fi movies paid off!" the boy half-joked. "Now, we just gotta find someplace to land...safely." </p><p> The children became in awe as the flew the ship over the tops of many buildings. "The book wasn't joking!" Romulus exclaimed.</p><p> Haleigh and Sierra couldn't help but smile as they passed over lit buildings. To them, everything looked beautiful! And it was nighttime, too, which made the sights look even better! The buildings, themselves, looked very futuristic, and there were even small flying vehicles zooming about below the tops of the structures!</p><p> Haleigh squinted as she looked ahead, taking notice of a building that was larger than most, and stood out amongst the many other futuristic buildings. "What is that?" she asked, curiously. The building was almost dome-like...and looked abandoned, compared to its surroundings. She suddenly had a very odd and mystifying feeling...as if, the building was calling to her! </p><p> "Whatever it is, I see what looks like a hangar at the base of it, down there." Romulus said. "I'm landing this thing. It's about time we got some strength back in our legs." </p><p> "Yes...I agree...." Haleigh muttered, her eyes transfixed on the large structure that grew larger the closer the ship got to it. Romulus looked at her...she was looking like she was hypnotized. </p><p> "Leigh?" he asked, trying to get her attention. "Leigh....! Earth to Haleigh!" </p><p> The teen girl shook her head, her friend's voice snapping her out of her trance. "Sorry.... I was just-" she said.</p><p> "Spacing out?" the boy finished for her with a knowing look. "Yeah, you tend to do that, sometimes. I've noticed, especially at school."</p><p> Haleigh cringed. "That bad, huh?" she asked.</p><p> "Not bad. I think it's normal for people to space-out, sometimes." he told her. "I think even I do it, once in a while. Sierra, too!" </p><p> Romulus took full control of the <em>Phoenix Star</em>, and slowed it down enough so that it could land, safely, in the hangar. Meanwhile, Haleigh did him a favor, and packed the books back up, again. Sierra unbuckled, and stood up, leaving her seat to go over to the mini closet.</p><p> Romulus made sure that the whole ship was cooling off and shutting down. He then left the pilot's seat, and went over to his sister, who handed him a hooded cloak. He then grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. He couldn't wait to get out of the ship, for a while.... He hit the buttons that lowered the ramp, but he hesitated. Once again, he felt unsure if the planet was breathable for humans.</p><p> Sierra, with her cloak and backpack already on, happily rushed out of the ship before her brother or Haleigh could protest! In the hangar, she twirled around and stretched, a smile of relief on her face. She looked up at her brother and best friend. "Come on!" she called to them, her strong British accent coming through. "Out you get, ya big chickens!"</p><p> "Tch! Chickens...." Haleigh scoffed, and began walking down the ramp. "I'm no chicken."</p><p> "Well, I am!" Romulus admitted, clinging onto one of the ramp's railings. "You know, I think I'll just stay on the ship.... I feel more comfortable in here, anyway!" </p><p> Haleigh stopped halfway down the ramp, and put her hands on her hips. "We are not going to just leave you, here, Rom." she told him. "Remember our little talk on being brave?"</p><p> "You're the brave one, here, Leigh!" the boy protested, a frightened look on his face. "I don't trust anything about this place!"</p><p> Sierra could see that her brother was beginning to have a panic-attack...so, she jogged up the ramp, and gently took his hand. "Come on, Rom, everything will be ok!" she told him with a kind smile. "We promised Dad we would both be brave for him...remember?" </p><p> Romulus froze, looking up at her in terror. Then, he sighed in defeat, and let her lead him off of the ship. "I feel so much more comfortable flying...." he was muttering as both siblings passed Haleigh, who shook her head before following them. </p><p> The children noticed a yellow see-through barrier that was now blocking the entrance into the hangar. They wondered if it was only for caution and protection measures. The hangar, itself, was empty of any other ships or people...perhaps, the place really was abandoned.</p><p> As the children walked toward what looked like a futuristic elevator, Haleigh slowed down her pace. All of a sudden, she was getting a wave of an indescribable feeling...she could sense that this whole building was once very important.  </p><p> "Does anybody else feel like...we should be dressed more formally for this place?" Romulus whispered and signed. The girls looked down at themselves, and had to agree. They were all in desperate need of showers, and fresh clothes. Unfortunately, those would still have to wait....</p><p> "Let's explore, here, first!" Sierra said, excitedly. "I can't explain it...but already, this place feels safe!"</p><p> "I wouldn't be too sure about that." Romulus signed to her, and she gave him a snarky look in response.</p><p> "Exploring it is, then." Haleigh said, giving the boy a victorious smirk when he rolled his eyes in defeat. </p><p> As they continued onward, Romulus took notice of what was sticking out of his friend's pocket. "I see you've brought along the lightsaber." he told her with a small smirk.</p><p> Haleigh glanced down at the hilt. "Oh...yeah." she replied. "It just didn't feel right, leaving it on the ship."</p><p> Romulus let out a scoff. "I think you just enjoy holding it." he said.</p><p> Haleigh couldn't help but blush. "S-So what if I do?" she told him, turning her face away with an embarrassed pout. This caused her younger friend to snicker, teasingly.</p><p> The children entered the elevator, which was spacious with the walls being made of glass. Romulus took a look at the buttons, before hitting the one that seemed to signify 'down'. They were silent, taking in everything that they've seen, so far, that amazed them. As of now, they didn't have a particular are in mind...they just wanted to explore. It felt like it had been quite a while since they last went on an adventure.</p><p> The elevator stopped, and opened, snapping them out of their thoughts. </p><p> The small group stepped out, but were cautious as their surroundings suddenly felt...mysterious. Wherever they were, the place was dimly lit, and misty...giving off an eerie feeling, yet also tranquil.</p><p> "W-Where are we?" Romulus whispered, nervously. </p><p> "I don't know...." Haleigh whispered back. "But, it feels almost...calming, here. Like, this place is important, for some reason.... Hey, stick close to your sister, Rom. Ok?"</p><p> "Got it." the boy replied, and quickly moved to stay near Sierra, who was looking around in wonder. </p><p> Haleigh walked around, and paused when she caught sight of what looked like it could be a tunnel. Cautiously, she began going toward it. But just before she could go through it, she stopped walking as her eyes suddenly widened...moving images flashed through her mind! She saw troops...different from the ones she and the siblings had encountered on Earth...shooting down people wearing strange-looking robes and carrying blue, green, and many other colored lightsabers! In one image, she also saw a masked pilot being shot down by spacecraft, and crashing into a bridge that was over water! </p><p> "Haleigh?" Sierra's voice asked, ending the horrifying vision. Haleigh breathed, rapidly, her heart pounding at what she just saw. Slowly, she turned her head to look at her friend, who was staring at her with concern. "Are you alright?" Romulus came over, just then, and gave the teen girl a questioning look.</p><p> "I.... I'm ok." Haleigh replied, and tried to calm down. "I just...had a horrible vision, that's all."</p><p> "Do we want to know?" Romulus asked with uncertainty, signing everything for his sister's benefit.</p><p> "Uhm...only if you're curious enough." the teenager replied and signed.</p><p> "Not really...." Romulus admitted. Sierra said nothing, but continued to worry about her best friend.</p><p> Haleigh looked ahead at the tunnel, and continued going into it. It was darker in there than it was in the other room. Sierra followed close behind, and Romulus let out a nervous whimper before finally hurrying to catch up with them. The children descended down a narrow set of stairs, and into darkness.</p><p> "Can we go back? It's too dark, down here!" Romulus whimpered.</p><p> "Calm down, Rom...I have something, here." Haleigh told him in a hushed tone. She was still bothered by that vision...but at the moment, she couldn't really focus on it. She pulled out the hilt in her pocket, which felt cold to the touch...and she pressed the button, summoning the glowing orange weapon. It wasn't a lot of light, but it was enough for the children to see. They were surrounded by mist and walls. </p><p> "This feels...strangely like a sanctuary of some sort...." Sierra whispered as she looked around. </p><p> "Or a cemetery...." her brother said with a gulp. "Leigh?"</p><p> Haleigh frowned as she tried to see through the mist and the light of the lightsaber. Since coming down the stairs, she had felt like she and her friends were being watched. Perhaps it was only a feeling.... "I wish we had a bit more light, down here." she muttered. "It's so dark, even with just this thing on!"</p><p> The children let out gasps of surprise when all of a sudden, candles were lit, illuminating the room and revealing strange writing on the walls! Haleigh looked around with a raised eyebrow, not turning her head. "....Thank you...." she said, her voice cracking with fear. </p><p> "Alright, that's it, I'm going back up!" Romulus whimpered, and was about to leave the room. "I swear, this place is haunted!" Sierra, seeing his distress but not wanting him to leave without her, gently grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Oh, c'mon, you guys!" </p><p> Haleigh lowered the lightsaber, and knelt down, spotting something through the mist. She waved some of it away, revealing strange writing that was on the floor. She hovered her fingers over it...she felt like she knew this sort of writing, somehow. But she just couldn't say or remember what it was. </p><p> "Haleigh, let's go! I don't want to be in a creepy cemetery!" Romulus whined in terror.</p><p> "Hush, Rom!" the teenager whispered, lifting her head to look at him. "Yes, we are possibly in a cemetery. However, we need to be respectful in cemeteries. Remember? Uncle Owen taught that to us!"</p><p> Romulus winced, and nodded, hesitantly. </p><p> Haleigh looked back down at the writing. "Romulus...do you think you can read this?" she asked him.</p><p> "I don't know!" the boy whimpered. But, he came over to her, anyway, and bent down to get a closer look. Oddly enough, he could make out what the writing said. "....'Luminara Unduli'" he read, and he stood straight up. "Nope!" He tried to turn and run off, but Haleigh grabbed him by his backpack and stopped him, unfazed by his fear of...well...everything, at the moment.</p><p> "Who's Luminara Unduli?" she asked.</p><p> "I don't know, but can we go, now? Please?" Romulus begged.</p><p> "What about this one?" the teen girl asked, pointing at another set of strange written characters. </p><p> The boy took a single glance at it. "Plo Koon." he replied, quickly, and then began tugging on her arm. "Let's <em>go!</em>"</p><p> Haleigh staggered to her feet. "Alright, alright!" she told him, being mindful of where she was waving the lightsaber. "Geez!" She quickly followed her friend out of the room, with Sierra right behind her.</p><p> "I asked if we could go back upstairs!" Romulus protested. "Begged, actually! Three times!"</p><p> The children's voices echoed throughout the place, bringing out a few curious ghostly figures. Other ghostly figures appeared, watching the children leave and head back to the glass elevator. </p><p> </p><p> In the elevator, Romulus had pretty much calmed down from his anxiety. Being in the cemetery did not bode well for it, and he had wanted out, quickly. Now, they were going up, and passing the hangar level. By the time the elevator stopped, again, the boy had pulled out one of Uncle Luke's books, and was reading it even as he stepped out of the elevator with the girls. </p><p> Haleigh took in their surroundings. They had stopped at a long hallway, which seemed to lead into many different rooms. Everything looked old, rusted, dusty...and abandoned.</p><p> "I think I know exactly where we are...." Romulus said, and Haleigh looked back at him as they continued to walk down the hall. The boy sped up, a bit, and showed his friend blueprints of the building they were currently in. "We're in the Jedi Temple! It's also like a school for future Jedi!"</p><p> Haleigh frowned in confusion as she remembered what Uncle Luke had told her and the others. "But...I thought the Jedi Temple was destroyed, years ago! As in, before Uncle Luke was even born!"</p><p> "That's according to Old Ben." Romulus told her. "Remember, Uncle Luke only knows what Old Ben had taught him. Uncle Luke wasn't the only one who liked to share stories."</p><p> "Who is, Old Ben, anyway?" the teen girl asked. "That's been sitting on my mind since this entire thing started."</p><p> Romulus frowned in thought. "You know, I don't think Uncle Luke ever told us that...." he replied. "All I remember him ever saying was that Old Ben used to be a Jedi. But that's all! Now that you mention it...I feel like Old Ben has to be one of our biggest mysteries, right now."</p><p> "One of? What other mysteries could we be dealing with?" Haleigh asked.</p><p> "Well, there's the people down in that cemetery...we don't know who they are." the boy answered. "Other than possibly Jedi.... And this temple slash school! Uncle Luke only wrote so much in his books...there's gotta be more about this place, somewhere!" </p><p> "That reminds me, do you still have Uncle Luke's letter that he left for us?" the teenager asked. The children's conversation echoed throughout the empty hallway.</p><p> Unbeknownst to them, a cloaked and hooded figure stepped out from behind a pillar. Quietly, the figure hurried to follow the children, his caution and curiosity getting the better of him.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter VI: Dawn of a New Day</h2></a>
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    <p> The small group explored as much as their energy would allow them to in the temple. The whole place was so large and spacious, that the rest of the tour would have to wait until the next day...which, if Romulus wasn't mistaken, would be in a few hours. </p><p> "I really wish we had some fresh clothes...." the boy complained, after the children had found themselves in front of some dorm rooms. "I want to burn these ones, so badly! A shower would be swell, too. I know we're supposed to blend in, but c'mon!"</p><p> Haleigh let out a tired sigh. "Alright, I see your point...." she said. Admittedly, even she knew she needed a shower. Back on Earth, she had gotten so used to taking one, every other day, in her life. At the very least, the children should get all of the caked mud and grime off of them. "We'll see if we can find some clothes, tomorrow. Preferably, ones that fit."</p><p> "Hey! The showers in the dorms work!" Sierra exclaimed as she suddenly poked her head out of one the rooms. </p><p> Romulus and Haleigh shared a look of surprise. </p><p> "Great! Finally, we can make ourselves decent, and go to bed." the boy said with a sarcastic grin. "I'm now exhausted from literally everything, today." </p><p> "It has been a rough day...." Haleigh agreed, solemnly. "Come to think of it, I don't even know if it's been twenty-four hours, yet."</p><p> "Kinda makes me regret leaving my phone behind...it had a clock and date on it." Romulus said with a small sigh. "I wonder if this place has any of those things."</p><p> "Somehow, I doubt it." the teenager told him. "Well...let's get our showers done and over with so that we can sleep away the rest of the night." She then entered the dorm room that was right next to the one Sierra and her brother were about to share. </p><p> Romulus signed everything to his sister before following her into the dorm.</p><p> Haleigh let out an exhausted huff as she took down her half-ponytail. She then entered the little section where the shower was, and got herself ready.</p><p> </p><p> About half an hour later, the teenage girl sat on the bed while wearing a bathrobe that fit her, much to her surprise. She had found towels, earlier, and was currently using a small one to dry her hair. "That feels so much better....!" she muttered in content, her eyes closed. It felt great not having cakes of mud and rain covering her nearly head-to-toe. </p><p> When she opened her eyes, she spotted a set of clean clothes just sitting on the desk in one corner of the dorm. "Huh...." she said to herself. "That's odd." She stood up and walked over...she didn't recall ever finding any clothes while exploring the temple, earlier, or before taking her shower. So, where did these come from? With a small shake of her head in confusion, she changed into them. She also took notice that her old clothes were missing....</p><p> <em>Where did they go?</em> she wondered, then shook her head, again.<em> Maybe the temple really is haunted.</em> Strangely enough, that didn't bother her like it would bother Romulus. <em>Thanks, ghosts?</em> She made a mental joke that ghosts were responsible for replacing her old clothes with new ones. </p><p> Five minutes later, she collapsed onto the bed. She felt like she could pass out at any moment, now that she was refreshed...which only made her feel more exhausted.</p><p> A knock came at the door, then. "It should be open!" she softly exclaimed, and the door opened, sliding to the side.</p><p> The siblings entered the room. "I see the ghosts have taken care of your clothes, as well." Romulus said, looking a little nervous. Haleigh wasn't surprised by his attitude, at all.</p><p> She sat up to look at them. "Yeah...I already thanked them, mentally." she joked with a tiny smirk. "And now, I think it's time we all got some rest."</p><p> "Sierra just wanted to check up on you, first." the boy told her, jabbing a thumb in his sister's direction. "Are we sure this place is safe?"</p><p> "Rom, it's a temple...the Jedi Temple, at that." Haleigh told him. "It has to be safe. We'll explore more of it, later. I'm not entirely sure, yet, but I feel like this could be our home, for a while." Romulus still looked fearful, but he nodded, anyway, knowing that she was probably right. </p><p> "Ok, you've both checked up on me." the teen girl said with a smile, and waved her hand. "Now, off to bed." </p><p> Romulus smirked and signed to Sierra, who gave a warm smile before nodded. </p><p> Once the siblings had gone back to their dorm, Haleigh laid back down. Her eyes began to droop as her entire body relaxed into the bed. Napping on the <em>Phoenix Star</em> had not been nearly enough....</p><p> </p><p> As she slept, she dreamed...all she could see were flashes of images: she was defending herself and protecting her friends against an army of droids and troopers, then she sees herself in a bar and catching the stare of a heavily-hooded person in a dark cloak, and then...she sees a dangerous droid carrying an electrical weapon, about to harm Sierra...who wasn't looking until it was too late!</p><p> She woke with a start, her eyes wide and her heart pounding against her chest. <em>Was that another premonition?!</em> she thought in shock. <em>What the hell did I just see?!</em> She wasn't sure...just like the last vision she had, the images were jumbled up.</p><p> "HALEIGH!!!" a terrified shout sounded, scaring the daylights out of the girl and causing her to fall right out of bed!</p><p> She scrambled to her feet, and grabbed the lightsaber as she rushed out of her dorm, and into the one next to it. Romulus, his hair disheveled, as usual, was looking around the room in a panic, and he wasn't wearing his glasses...which was laying on a little table next to the bed. </p><p> Romulus looked at her, fearfully. "Sierra's gone!" he exclaimed.</p><p> Haleigh looked around the room...her friend was indeed missing! Meanwhile, Romulus was breathing rapidly and beginning to clutch at his hair!</p><p> "She would've told me if she was going anywhere! She would've said something!" he panicked. </p><p> Haleigh immediately rushed over and pulled him into a hug. "Hey, it's ok...." she told him, softly. "Breathe...and count to ten." She stayed still and calm as the boy did as he was told, and she waited for him to calm down. "Sierra is fine. I'm sure she just woke up and decided to explore, for a bit."</p><p> "B-But...sh-she would've told me....!" Romulus said, his voice muffled in her hug.</p><p> "Rom, sometimes, it's ok if we don't tell you something." she told him. "We don't need to know literally everything that we do or everywhere we go. For us girls, we do kinda need our space, sometimes, as well. Ok?"</p><p> Romulus sniffed, and nodded. Haleigh could feel his entire body shaking. </p><p> "Now, take another few seconds." she told him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Then, we'll go and look for your sister." She let go of his shoulders, and stuck the lightsaber into the belt of her night clothes. She then waited for confirmation from the boy that he had calmed down. "....You ready?" He hesitated, but then nodded. "Then, let's go."</p><p> Both children exited the dorm, Romulus sticking close to his best friend as they began exploring the temple for his sister. They didn't bother calling her name, since she was unable to hear, and they didn't want to damage their voices.</p><p> </p><p> After what felt like hours, Haleigh and Romulus found Sierra, at last. She was in a room that had no corners, and most of the walls were glass...forming a circle sat empty modern-looking chairs. Sierra stood by a window, looking out at the cities while wearing her mother's shawl. </p><p> Romulus rushed up and gave her a light tap, signing to her in great relief. Sierra looked at her sibling and best friend, innocently. "I couldn't sleep, anymore, so I decided to do some exploring." she told them. "I found this room, and just couldn't leave it. The view is simply amazing!"</p><p> Haleigh joined the two in looking out the window, and gave a half-smile. "It certainly is breathtaking....!" she said. On the inside, the view really did take her breath away. She enjoyed views like this: the sun rising or falling behind or in between buildings or nature...or over them, depending on the color of the sky in that time. She loved the red or pink skies that happened, especially after a lot of rain.... She smiled, warmly, at the gorgeous morning view, outside. It felt like it had been a while since she really watched a sunrise or sunset.</p><p> She wasn't the only one...the siblings enjoyed the views just as much as she did. To them, it made them feel at peace...like nothing wrong could ever happen. They were up high, most likely up in one of the temple's towers. It was a really long way down...Romulus did not even want to think about exactly how high up they were!</p><p> It was hard for the children to believe that only twenty-four hours ago...give or take...their world had been invaded by troopers from space, hunting for them, and taking away the one person left they held dear. And now, they were on a planet in a galaxy so far from home, it was most likely impossible they would find their way back and save Earth. </p><p> <em>We have to try....</em> Haleigh thought. <em>At the very least, we can do that....</em> </p><p> "Since we're up...." Romulus said and signed. "We might as well grab some food, then find some day-clothes that'll help us blend into this society." </p><p> "Oh! First, I found something I know you'll enjoy, Rom!" Sierra exclaimed, cheerfully. She then took off running before her brother and best friend could say anything.</p><p> "H-Hey! Sierra!" the boy called after his sister, worriedly, and ran after her.</p><p> "I was hoping we'd eat, first...." Haleigh muttered with a disappointed sigh. Shaking her head, she chased after the siblings.</p><p> </p><p> Haleigh and Romulus followed Sierra down into a large room...and their mouths fell open. Before them, the room was filled with rows and rows of shelves with glowing-blue rectangular things that looked like they could've been books...but weren't! </p><p> Romulus rushed forward in awe, and looked around. "It's.... It's like a library!" he exclaimed, and pushed his glasses up. "This is probably like, a researcher's dream come true!" </p><p> Since he was too in shock, Haleigh signed whatever he said to his sister. "I knew you'd like it, Rom!" Sierra said with a soft laugh. "The second I found this room, I immediately thought of you." She looked over at Haleigh. "And you, if you're interested."</p><p> "Do I look like someone who hasn't picked up a book in her entire life?" the teenager asked and signed, sarcastically, even giving her a very sarcastic and silly look. "....No!" Sierra giggled at her friend's weird behavior.</p><p> "If either of you need me, I'll be in here...researching." Romulus told the girls, signing for his sibling's benefit. "This room is now my base." He then began to run off.</p><p> "Romulus, hold up!" Haleigh exclaimed, and quickly ran up and grabbed his shoulders before he could go any further. "Hunger. Breakfast....?" she asked with a playful smirk.</p><p> "Oh, yeah...food." the boy replied in realization. "I forgot that was a thing." He turned around and rushed back to his sister to sign what was going on, now.</p><p> "Raise your hand if you want to eat while watching the sun finish rising?" the teenager asked, raising her own hand as an 'I'. Romulus quickly signed to Sierra.</p><p> "I'm in!" she exclaimed with a happy smile.</p><p> "Alright, I guess we can do that...." the boy said. "But then, I'm coming right back here!"</p><p> Somehow, Haleigh had a strange feeling...like the three of them were being watched. While Romulus signed and joked around with Sierra, the teenager cautiously looked around, eyeing every shadowed corner or area in the room.</p><p> From up above, on top of the library's balcony...the heavily-hooded figure from before watched and listened to the children with interest while staying in the shadows. He took notice of the eldest child's sudden awareness, and made sure he was well hidden to avoid being spotted.</p><p> Haleigh couldn't shake the odd feeling away. However, she didn't want to worry her friends. "So, you don't want to check out the city, or find new clothes?" she asked Romulus, teasingly. She continued to keep an eye and ear out, nonetheless.</p><p> "Dang it!" the boy exclaimed, his reaction causing his sister to giggle and his friend to smirk. "Alright, fine! Food, first...then finding clothes, then checking out the city...and then, coming back to the library!" Haleigh felt relieved that the sight of the library, and the plans for the day, seemed to have put the boy at ease from his constant worries and anxiety. He needed a break from all the stress, recently....</p><p> "Race you two back to the dorms!" Sierra exclaimed, happily, before taking off at the lead.</p><p> "Hey! Cheater!" her brother called after her. "You got a head-start!" He ran off after her.</p><p> Haleigh sighed, tiredly. "How much more are we going to be running, this morning....?" she muttered. With a tiny smile, she hurried to catch up to them.</p><p> </p><p> Back at the dorms, Romulus had ended up winning the race. He was the fastest, next to Haleigh...out of the small group, the two children had been the fastest runners at their school. However, that had never impressed any of their classmates or teachers...nothing ever did.</p><p> Much to Haleigh's and Sierra's surprise, the boy had grabbed his backpack, and was out of the dorm in seconds, already racing back up to the tower. If large drops of sweat could appear on the girls' heads, they would....</p><p> Haleigh looked over at her friend. "Guess he's hungry....!" she signed, and Sierra nodded in agreement. The girls quickly grabbed their own backpacks...which had completely dried from all the rain back on Earth...and hurried after Romulus.</p><p> Although, they had a feeling that he was already up the tower, by now. </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter VII: Interesting Encounters</h2></a>
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    <p> Up in the tower from earlier, the girls stopped running and tried to catch their breath as they stood in the same room as before. Romulus, of course, was already there...sitting cross-legged in one of the chairs with his eyes closed, pretending to meditate. </p><p> "Romulus!" Haleigh protested, and threw her backpack at him, startling him as he managed to catch it after it had hit his face. "Would you wait for us, next time, Mr. Flash?" </p><p> Romulus adjusted his glasses, and set her backpack down as if nothing had happened. "Not my fault you two are slow." he said with a smirk.</p><p> "Slow?!" Haleigh told him in disbelief as Sierra calmly took her own seat and unzipped her backpack. "Excuse me, Sir, but you're not the only speedy one in this group."</p><p> "You're fast?" the boy asked, feigning surprise, and smiled in a teasing manner.</p><p> "Boy, I outta-" Haleigh teased back, and pretended to give him a few punches. This was the sort of joking around the three always did to each other, especially to take their minds off of stressful things or situations. Haleigh and Romulus were usually the rough-housers in the group, while Sierra sat by and watched with a grin. The teenager and preteen didn't mind leaving each other bruises...it was like the small group were all siblings! </p><p> Haleigh took a seat at one of the chairs, and unzipped her backpack. "Here...." she said, and tossed the siblings each a container of dried cereal. "I know it's no fun without milk, but it was about all I could pack for breakfast."</p><p> "Wow, dried cereal...." Romulus commented, and opened up the container with a shrug. "Haven't had this even as a snack since I was a kid!" He gave his friend a sarcastic grin. "Cheerios...my favorite!"</p><p> Haleigh gave him an equally sarcastic grin. "I knew you'd thank me for packing that!" she told him, then popped a coco pop cereal into her mouth.</p><p> Romulus squinted his eyes at her. "....You have another favorite cereal of mine, Leigh." he told her. </p><p> She gave him a fake sad pout. "Too bad I didn't pack it for you." she replied.</p><p> The boy couldn't help but smile, and he threw a book from his backpack at her. "Jerk!!!" he exclaimed. Haleigh quickly dodged her head and laughed. Sierra, who was munching on mini wheats, simply smiled as she watched the two mess around. </p><p> </p><p> Once breakfast was done, the children went back into their dorms...and found clean day-clothes folded on the beds! Romulus' hands fell to his side as he stared, nervously, at the clothes. "....Leigh, I seriously think this place is haunted!" he called out to the teenager.</p><p> Haleigh, who wasn't bothered by the sight of new clothes out of nowhere, stepped into her dorm. "And I seriously think the ghosts are only trying to be generous, Rom!" she called back with a smile. "Just put the clothes on and don't worry about it. Hey, at least we don't have to go searching the entire temple for them!"</p><p> Romulus sighed, knowing that she was right. Once all three children were in their dorms, the doors slid closed to give them their privacy.</p><p> Ten minutes later, they came back out, and gave each other impressed looks at their new outfits.</p><p> Sierra now wore light-beige leggings with brown ankle-boots, a long-sleeved tunic that matched her leggings, and a brown belt. </p><p> The outfit Romulus wore consisted of grey pants that had a pocket on each hip and thigh, a loose turtleneck-like white shirt, a brown belt, dark-brown boots, and a black light long-sleeved jacket with several buckles down the front of it. He also wore dark-grey fingerless gloves, and had cleaned his glasses. </p><p> Haleigh's attire was white leggings, a beige tunic with a dark-brown belt and wide sleeves, and half-calf maroon-colored boots. She had the lightsaber attached to the belt, and had found a pair of dark-brown fingerless gloves. Just like on the trip to Coruscant, she had her hair up in a high half-ponytail. </p><p> Romulus motioned at the lightsaber. "You might want to hide that...." he told the teenager. "Don't forget: Jedi aren't supposed to exist, again...yet."</p><p> "Again? Yet?" Haleigh asked him in confusion.</p><p> "Well...remember when I said that you totally looked like a Jedi, holding that lightsaber?" he asked.</p><p> "Yeah?" she replied.</p><p> "Well...Sierra and I were thinking...." he told her. "If we are going to be living on Coruscant...far out in the galaxies, basically...maybe there's a way you - or, we - could bring back the ways of the Jedi and things like that. You always looked cool with handling swords, as inexperienced as you are.... But, until that time comes, you may want to keep that lightsaber hidden. Just for safety."</p><p> Haleigh thought it over, and nodded in agreement. She went back into her dorm, and threw on the hooded cloak she had brought from the <em>Phoenix Star</em>. It was long enough to be nearly head-to-toe, and it hid the lightsaber from view. She made a mental note to keep that part closed up in public.</p><p> When she stepped back out of her dorm, Romulus made a nod of approval. Meanwhile, Sierra had gone and thrown on her own hooded cloak. Her dyed hair was completely safe from any possible onlookers they might come by in the city.</p><p> "Should I put my cloak on, too?" Romulus asked. "Just in case?"</p><p> "It's up to you, kiddo!" Haleigh told him. "I mean, you're already pretty unrecognizable...except for the glasses."</p><p> "No way, no how, am I taking these glasses off and leaving them here." the boy told her, stubbornly. "My sight, my glasses." He then entered the dorm to put his cloak on.</p><p> Haleigh smiled and put her hands up in defense. She wasn't trying to persuade him to leave his glasses, behind...he could wear whatever he wanted, and she wasn't one to force anything onto anybody.</p><p> Within a few minutes, the children were all set to go into the city. "Let's try not to cause any trouble. Alright?" Haleigh told her friends and signed to Sierra while giving Romulus a playful knowing stare.</p><p> "Why're you looking at me?" the boy asked her, unamused. "I'm not the trouble-maker in this family. Who dumped a bowl of spaghetti onto Lauren Helforte, last month?"</p><p> Haleigh cringed, and followed her friends. "I did that only because she deserved it...." she said in defense. "She and her cronies shoved you into your locker, and locked Sierra into the restricted classroom after that dare! Nobody gets away with picking on my friends, Rom. You know that about me!"</p><p> "Suuure." the boy replied, sarcastically.</p><p> "Seriously, Rom!" the teenager's voice echoed as the small group made their way to the temple's garage. "The prissy princess got what was coming to her! I did it in both of your defenses!"</p><p> Unbeknownst to them, a cloaked hand rested on a nearby temple pillar, the nails of fingers silently tapping on it.</p><p> </p><p> A short while later, Romulus was flying a dark-blue speeder, with his sister sitting in the passenger seat next to him, and Haleigh sitting in the back. The teen girl was still pleasantly surprised that her youngest friend had the talent for driving anything that hovered or flew...it was as if the boy was born to be a pilot!</p><p> The girls simply enjoyed the views of lit buildings that flew by as the children entered the city. The air felt fresh and cool, and somewhat strange compared to the air on Earth. However, it was a pleasant sort of strange, and the children were quickly getting used to it as seconds ticked by. </p><p> When they believed they were far enough into the city, Romulus parked in a hidden alleyway. On his wrist was the controls for the vehicle...so, if anybody wanted to steal it, they would have to find him, first.</p><p> "Hey, Leigh, this whole survival thing is easier than I thought!" the boy joked as he and the girls climbed out of the speeder. </p><p> "Ah, don't be too sure about that, Sir." the teen girl told them in a serious tone, even though, she knew that he was only joking. </p><p> "Do you think we should try and look for a job while we're here?" Sierra asked, small concern written on her face. "We'll need to start earning money, somehow!"</p><p> "Let's worry about that, later." Haleigh replied, and Romulus signed her response while walking backwards. "Right now, let's just focus on exploring and getting to know...the...place...." Her voice trailed off as she took in her surroundings in awe. Her mouth practically hung open as she and the siblings stared at all the colors in the city. Even in the morning light, everything looked gorgeous! A gentle breeze blowing by, and the sight of many different species...humanoid included...made things feel almost magical, as if the children had just stepped into a fantasy book! </p><p> "Leigh...are we dreaming?" Romulus asked as he stared up at all the vehicles that flew by. "Is this all just a dream...one that went from nightmare to fantasy?"</p><p> Haleigh pinched her arm, and pulled her hand back with a short hiss of pain. No...they were definitely not dreaming. "This is real, Romulus." she replied. "All of it...."</p><p> "Back on Earth, everyone was human...." Sierra said, her British accent strongly falling through. "Here...all the different species look amazing!" </p><p> Haleigh looked ahead, and snapped herself out of her stupor. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, you two." she told them. "This is only Day 1 of us being on this planet. Sure, everyone looks different, compared to Earth...but we still must be mindful of who to befriend or leave alone." </p><p> Romulus turned to Sierra, and signed his agreement to his friend's instruction. His sister nodded with realization. </p><p> "Where do we even start?" Romulus asked the teenager. "There's so many buildings and people, here!" He then paused as he realized something, and his face twisted into a wince. "Dad would not be a fan of this.... He never liked crowds."</p><p> Haleigh gave him a sympathetic look. "Uncle Owen wasn't a giant fan of cities, either." she said.</p><p> "He'd probably say that he'd rather have been sent to anywhere but Coruscant." the boy added with a shrug. He couldn't help but smile, too...because it was exactly something his father would say.</p><p> Haleigh let out a small chuckle. "Or complain about the fact that there's way too many people." she told him. The two shared a laugh while Sierra looked in between them with curiosity of what they were talking about.</p><p> The eldest child looked around. "Well...if I knew what any of the signs read, I'd probably suggest we check a place out." she sighed.</p><p> "You need to work on learning Aurebesh." Romulus told her, casually. </p><p> "Aura-what?" Haleigh asked with her brows knitted in confusion.</p><p> "Aurebesh." he replied, saying the word slightly slowly so as for her to understand. "It's like the galactic basic language all over this galaxy. Pretty much almost everywhere you go, something will be written in Aurebesh. That was the writing we saw in that scary cemetery below the temple. Those people's names were in Aurebesh."</p><p> Haleigh raised her eyebrows for a millisecond, impressed with her friend's knowledge. "Wait...how do you know this?" she asked him.</p><p> "Uncle Luke mentions it in one of his books." he told her. "I'll teach you the basics, later." He looked around. "Let's just walk about, for a bit. If there's something interesting that catches our eye, we'll go check it out. Oh...by the way, Leigh, you're the leader in this family." He gave her a smile before taking his sister's wrist and leading her away. </p><p> Haleigh stared after them with her mouth open, taken aback. "Uh, excuse me, Sir!" she called after them, mainly talking to Romulus. "Who, exactly, made this decision?"</p><p> "Sierra, me...and Dad!" he replied.</p><p> "Uncle Owen?!" Haleigh exclaimed as the three traveled further into the crowd.</p><p> </p><p> So, as it turned out, the Organa siblings and their father had made Haleigh the leader, a long time ago...without her knowledge. According to her Uncle Owen, it was because she was the oldest and most protective of the siblings. And according to Sierra and Romulus, it was simply because they believed that she was meant to be a leader. This, she strongly disagreed, having never seen herself as a leader of any sort. To her, she had always been more of a follower. </p><p> Romulus had pointed out that, now that their lives have changed, Haleigh didn't have too much of a choice. Secretly, he just had this feeling that she didn't have it in her heart to not take up the challenge, and that she had always looked after him and his sister, no matter what. He did make an agreement with her that...if she was going to be their leader, he was going to be the brains in the family, seeing how quickly he learns and adjust to things he has never done and learned, before. As for Sierra...and even she agrees to this...she was the medic in the family, having had taken care of everybody's injuries since she was a child.</p><p> Eventually, the children had been wandering about the city grounds for so long, that the sun was just beginning to set as they finally sat down at a fountain to rest. Coruscant was one magnificent planet! It was impossible to explore it all, but the children were just fine with that. They didn't want to stray too terribly far from the temple, anyway.</p><p> Haleigh had her hand on the lightsaber for pretty much almost the entire day...she felt like she would go into a total panic if it somehow got lost. She knew she was going to need it...eventually.</p><p> "I have never walked for so long in my entire life!" Romulus said. He wasn't complaining, too much, though. He enjoyed walking around and seeing all the people and different buildings. And, he knew that the girls felt the same.</p><p> "We are definitely getting sleep, tonight." Haleigh joked, although, it was the truth. "Thankfully, it doesn't feel like summer, here." </p><p> "Think we should go back to the temple?" Romulus asked her. "I'm getting hungry, but we don't have any money to eat out." </p><p> Haleigh was about to agree...when she looked ahead, and spotted a humanoid being wearing a chef's apron staring at them with a thoughtful frown through the window of a restaurant. He nodded his head, motioning for the three to come over. Part of her had a million caution signs flashing...yet, something in her gut was telling her to go over there. And that something was not hunger....</p><p> "Stay here, for a minute." she told the siblings with a serious frown, keeping her eyes on the person.</p><p> "What?" Romulus asked in surprise, his voice cracking. </p><p> "Just stay here and don't move." she replied. "I'll be right back." She stood up from the ledge of the fountain, and walked over to the being, who eyed her with just as much suspicion as she held for him. She walked up to the window just as it opened.</p><p> The humanoid being poked his head out...his skin was teal-blue, his eyes were bronze, and he had twin tail-like appendages on his head that had a lighter blue pattern on them. His clothing was slightly tattered, but he still dressed well enough for the public to not turn anybody away. </p><p> "You three sure look like you're not from around here." he told her, his voice sounding deep and serious. "But you also look lost and exhausted."</p><p> "We just spent the day exploring the city...." Haleigh replied. She had the urge to explain their situation, but bit back her tongue. Trusting anybody was still low on the list...and they were supposed to be on the DL, anyway. "We were about to go back home for dinner."</p><p> "Like you have anybody to go home to." the man said with a raised eyebrow. </p><p> Haleigh knitted her eyebrows in surprise. While the words did hurt, he certainly wasn't wrong....</p><p> "I can see right through you kids...alone, no family, homeless.... Sounds like what I went through in my childhood." the being told her. He glanced into his restaurant, and waved her inside. "Come on, bring your friends inside. You three look starved." </p><p> As he walked away, Haleigh's stomach growled, rudely. She winced...although she didn't trust the man, at all, he hadn't been wrong about anything, so far. And, the siblings hadn't had a good meal since Earth. So, with a few seconds to think it over, she hurried over to them.</p><p> "C'mon, we're getting dinner." she told them, gently taking their wrists.</p><p> "Wha? How? Where?" Romulus asked in surprised. </p><p> "I'll tell you when we get inside." she replied, giving him a 'trust me' look. The boy stayed quiet, after that, and just let her pull him and Sierra along. </p><p> Once the children were inside the restaurant, the humanoid being with the apron was standing at a corner table with his arms crossed. He lowered one hand to motion at the table. The spot seemed somewhat private, a little away from the crowds who sat at the other tables. Haleigh led the siblings over there, and quietly thanked the man.</p><p> "Your meals will be here, shortly." he told her, then walked away.</p><p> The children sat at the table, with Romulus being in the middle. "Ok...." he said to his leader. "Now, explain."</p><p> "There's nothing much to explain." she told him. "The guy basically invited us over for a meal. And before you ask...no, I don't trust him in the slightest. Still...we haven't had an actual meal in a while. Just remember: whatever is served on this planet is going to be very different from what we're used to on Earth."</p><p> "Of course!" Romulus whispered, knowingly. "But uhm...how do you suppose we pay for this meal? Mm?" </p><p> "I hope this man won't make us pay...." Sierra whispered, worriedly. "We have nothing to pay with...."</p><p> "That reminds me, I need to do some research on that when we get back to the temple." her brother said. "Along with some of the species we've seen, today." </p><p> As the siblings began a conversation about research, Haleigh suddenly received that odd feeling, again...like they were being watched. She looked around...the restaurant was slightly dim in some areas, the structure of the place looked like the structure of any normal restaurant...or, building, in general...at every table was either a modern-looking ceiling light, or a candle. The restaurant was lively and crowded, techno music could be heard playing faintly from somewhere...there was a bar a few feet away from the entrance slash exit, and at that bar was the man who had invited the children. He was currently swiftly cleaning a wine-glass...if wine was a thing that existed on Coruscant...while conversing with a mysterious person wearing a dark cloak and hood. As she looked around some more, she noticed several people talking with another. Some of them were laughing and sharing jokes, some looked like they were doing some serious business, and everyone else just seemed like they were having the time of their lives! A perfectly normal night out in a perfectly normal restaurant. </p><p> And then, the teenager's eyes landed on a group of humanoid beings...and one of them seemed to be staring right at her. Dressed all in black clothes and gear, complete with a matching scarf, this person had orange skin, eight clawed fingers, and was wearing a pair of black goggles, and a black breathing mask. Haleigh felt sure that this person was staring at her...although, she had to admit, it was difficult to tell since he was wearing goggles over his eyes. His arms were crossed, and one of his right fingers was lightly tapping on his upper-arm, as if he was deep in thought.</p><p> Haleigh quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed for staring. It was rude, and she grew up better than that. Shielding her face with one hand, she tried to focus on the Organa siblings. </p><p> Just then, the man from before came by, and set down two bowls and a plate of food, along with beverages, in front of the small group. Romulus and the girls had no idea what they were just served...they could only pray that they liked it enough to eat it. </p><p> The humanoid man placed a hand on the table, and gave them all a serious look. "Listen, I don't usually give out food for free." he told them. "I'm only doing this, once, because you kids looked starved from where I was standing. Next time...if there is one...I won't be so generous." He took his hand off the table. "Don't eat too fast." And with that, he walked away.</p><p> Romulus looked over at Haleigh. "Swell guy." he muttered.</p><p> "Don't be harsh...he did give us free food out of his generosity." the teenager whispered to him. "And he isn't wrong. At some point, soon, we will need to figure out how to earn some money. We can't be broke, forever...and not everyone will be generous like he was."</p><p> The boy nodded, getting her point. He then hesitantly got to eating his meal, as so did the girls. </p><p> "Speaking of that guy...." Haleigh whispered. "Rom, do you know what he was?"</p><p> Romulus paused in thought, a forkful of food in his mouth. He finished it, and began cutting up another piece. "If I remember, correctly...I think he's a Twi'lek. I saw one in Uncle Luke's books."</p><p> "Wow, Uncle Luke did a number on his books, didn't he?" the teen girl asked, and took a bite of her food. Oddly enough, it tasted like fish to her. With a short shrug, she continued eating. Curious of the beverage she was served, which looked clear and was in a goblet. She took a sip.... <em>Oh, it's just water!</em> she thought, and drank some more. "What about, uhm...." She slightly cocked her head in the direction of the person who had been staring at the three. She was trying not to look too obvious and end up seeming rude. "That guy, over there."</p><p> Romulus noticed that she was trying to be subtle, and he looked in the direction she was motioning to without lifting his head. "....He's a Kel Dor." he whispered to her. "I'm not sure where Uncle Luke would've met one.... But one of his books did mention that Old Ben used to have a friend who was a Kel Dor. Apparently, they're supposed to be a pretty kind species with a sense of justice." He took a bite out of his meal...which tasted like chicken to him. "I do wonder...why that one keeps staring at us. We're not that weird-looking...are we?"</p><p> Haleigh gave him a smile. "I don't think we are." she replied. "It's possible he lives around here, and just has never seen us, before. It does happen, even on Earth."</p><p> "True." the boy nodded in agreement. </p><p> Meanwhile, during this whole time, Sierra has been quietly enjoying her meal, while also keeping an eye on the mystery person in the dark hooded cloak who was sitting at the bar. She didn't know why, but she had a strange sense that he was important, somehow. She couldn't exactly explain it...but the vibes she was getting from him were positive. She couldn't help but wonder who this person was. </p><p> She shook her head, and turned her focus onto her brother and best friend. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, curiously.</p><p> </p><p> By the time the children were done with their meals, the Organa siblings exited the restaurant and waited for Haleigh, who wanted to thank the Twi'lek, again, for his generosity. The man was aloof about the whole thing, and accepted her thanks. He did give her a final warning that he would not be giving them any more free meals. Haleigh was just fine with that, and left him to his duties.</p><p> Outside, Sierra was enjoying the pleasant night breeze that blew by, her arms stretching out before remembering that she needed to keep her hood up. Meanwhile, Romulus was trying to remember which button that summoned their speeder. </p><p> Haleigh joined them, the breeze gently blowing her half-ponytail. "Let's go back to the temple, before it gets too late." she suggested.</p><p> "Agreed. I still want to do a bit of research...." Romulus said, and took Sierra by her wrist. "Also, we gotta sleep off this food. It feels like it's been forever since we last had an actual meal. I actually really enjoyed that!"</p><p> Haleigh grinned. "So did I, surprisingly." she replied, and walked along with them back to the speeder.</p><p> </p><p> Once back in the alley where they had parked the speeder, the children stopped walking...and Romulus gripped his sister's wrist, fearfully.</p><p> Hanging around the speeder was a group of shady-looking humanoid beings. They dress similarly to thieves, and Haleigh could see that they were concealing blaster guns in holsters. Bravely, the teen girl stepped forward. "Can we help you gentlemen?" she asked, sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. Behind her, the siblings were looking quite fearful for her...Romulus, especially. "I do believe that's <em>our</em> speeder you're hanging around." </p><p> The group of trouble-makers shared smirks and snickers. In the dim lighting of the alley, one of them stepped away from the vehicle, and toward the girl. "<em>Your</em> speeder?" he asked with a smirk. He had large dark eyes, dark-speckled grey skin, and many tendrils that grew from his head. His voice was calm, sounded a little velvety, and even had a bit of an accent. "Funny. I would have thought it belonged to the old Jedi temple." Behind him, his friends let out a few whispers and snickers. "Especially seeing that the vehicle has the old Republic insignia underneath it." He leaned forward...he was clearly taller than Haleigh, and he was using this in spite of her height. "What is a couple of younglings like you doing with it? I highly doubt any of you are Jedi." </p><p> Haleigh ignored that he was bending down and leaning forward on purpose. She had the urge to take out the lightsaber after his Jedi comment...but she kept her cool, and kept the weapon hidden with her cloak. Instead, she tried to think of a comeback as she gave the trouble-maker a glare. Judging by the way he acted, and the fact that his friends were keeping themselves back and quiet, she could somewhat tell that he was in charge of the group.</p><p> "Why should I give you an answer to that?" she asked in a serious tone. "Since I'm polite, I ask you to step away from the vehicle.... You don't want any trouble, do you?"</p><p> At this, the group let out chuckles and laughter, clearly unfazed by her. "You get this kid, Rhic?" one of the trouble-makers scoffed. "Thinks she's all bark and no bite!"</p><p> The leader, Rhic, let out his own scoff as he straightened up. "My friend is correct!" he told the teenage girl. "You certainly are a bold one!" He smirked. "It's been quite some time since anybody has stood up to me. Usually, however...." He quickly brought out a blaster from his holster. "That doesn't last, very long." </p><p> At the sight of the blaster, Romulus and Sierra gave each other looks of terror. Romulus immediately figured out what this group was. "Leigh, be careful!" he whispered to his friend. "I think these guys are pirates!" Haleigh's eyes widened for a split-second at this.</p><p> Rhic twirled the ring of his blaster around his finger, almost threateningly. "Your little friend is correct!" he told her. "We are exactly what he said. And since he has brought that up...I do believe this Republic speeder will make wonderful profit. Don't you? So...I suggest you step away, younglings. Before somebody gets hurt." </p><p> Haleigh eyed the blaster, nervously...but, she was desperate to protect her family, and the speeder. These pirates couldn't get away with it, that easily. She gave Rhic a brave glare. "You want it? It'll cost you." she told him. </p><p> "Cost me what, exactly...." the pirate asked, and fired at the wall behind her, missing her ear by an inch! His smirk only grew when he saw the fear flash in her eyes. "An arm and a leg?" He shared a dark chuckle with his mates.</p><p> Haleigh's heart was pounding...that had been one seriously close call, just then! One more inch, and her ear would've been gone!</p><p> "Leave them alone!" a gruff voice suddenly sounded, silencing the laughter of the pirates and causing everyone to turn heads. Romulus and Sierra quickly backed away from a figure who was standing with his arms crossed. Haleigh and Romulus recognized him as the Kel Dor who had been staring at them in the restaurant, earlier. "Rhic, let the children go...in their speeder, of course."</p><p> Rhic gave the Kel Dor an irritated glare. "Well, well, if it isn't my old friend, Shar." He rolled his eyes. "Surprised to see you in Coruscant so soon."</p><p> "I came back early." the Kel Dor responded, and got right to the point. "Now, let the children go. I will not ask you a third time." </p><p> The two men exchanged serious and unpleasant glares. Finally, Rhic raised his hands as if in defeat, and he backed away from the speeder, along with his friends. </p><p> Shar twisted his head a tad bit to look at Haleigh and the younger children.</p><p> Romulus didn't need to be told twice...he, his sister, and his friend climbed into the speeder, and he quickly started the vehicle up. He wanted to get away from this situation as fast as possible....</p><p> Rhic smirked, darkly, and surprised the teenage girl, greatly, by grabbing and clutching her shoulder...rather harshly! The action caused Shar to take a couple steps forward, eyeing the pirate closely for any signs of possible violence that he might do.</p><p> "You were lucky enough to win this one, little girl." the pirate said, lowly, in Haleigh's ear. "But the next time we meet, and Shar isn't around...you won't be so lucky."</p><p> "Rhic....!" Shar exclaimed in a warning tone over the sound of the speeder's engine.</p><p> The pirate released the teen's shoulder and quickly backed away, acting totally innocent. He gave Haleigh an evil sneer as she looked back at him in fear.</p><p> Romulus gave Shar a nervous but polite nod of thanks before gripping the steering wheel and flying the speeder out of the alley, and towards the Jedi temple.</p><p> Haleigh rubbed her now-sore shoulder. "Well!" she said with a sigh of relief. "That was...eventful!"</p><p> "Eventful?!" Romulus exclaimed, his tone making her flinch.</p><p> She was in for an earful, now....</p>
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